Marianne Kearney – Indonesian police moved against separatist forces in the restive province of Irian Jaya, detaining four pro-independence civilian guards for insulting the Indonesian flag, as the territory marked the 39th anniversary of its independence.

Provincial police chief Brig-General Sylvanus Wenas said the four members of Satgas Papua, or Papua Taskforce, had insulted Indonesia by raising the Morning Star flag at higher than, and twice as large as, Indonesia's red-and-white flag at a ceremony in Jayapura, the provincial capital.

To mark the anniversary of Papua's original Declaration of Independence in 1961, President Abdurrahman Wahid agreed to allow the independence movement to raise the Morning Star flag yesterday. However, raising the flag was restricted in Jayapura and four other towns in Irian Jaya, now known as West Papua.

Apart from a 300-strong protest in Jakarta, where students rallied for independence outside the US embassy, most of Irian Jaya remained eerily calm.

In Wamena town, locals gathered in churches around Irian Jaya yesterday to pray for an end to the violence and for independence, as they marked the unrecognised declaration of the territory's independence, four decades ago. A showdown was expected yesterday between the independence movement, which has vowed to declare West Papua's independence, and Jakarta's security forces who are determined to stop any independence celebration.

In Wamena's main church, to a packed audience, local priest Matius Kudiai expressed a sentiment on everybody's lips these past few days. "We don't understand why they have sent all these troops, because we only want peace, and Wamena has become calm again since October 6." At least 34 people were killed here on October 6, when Indonesians police pulled down the Morning Star flag and a riot ensued.

While just outside Wamena, in a simple church with a straw floor and tin roofs, 100 villagers gathered nervously for what they called "Papua's birthday". "We don't need to declare our independence today because we already did in 1961. Ever since 1961, we always celebrate in the villages," said Evangel Enos, a villager celebrating Papua's birthday.

Another village leader, with tears streaming down his face, told the gathering how sad he was today as he remembered how many people have been killed, beaten or raped since the Indonesians arrived in 1962.