Timika – Five men have been arrested after an outlawed separatist flag was raised in Indonesia's remote Papua province, police said Wednesday.

A group of people unfurled the outlawed "Morning Star" flag early Wednesday at in four places including in front of the local assembly and government offices in Nabire town, local police chief Rianto Jatmono said.

"The five people are under police investigation. Those proven to have raised the flags will be named suspects on charges of plotting against the state," Jatmono said.

Anyone convicted of displaying separatist symbols faces a maximum of life in prison in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago with a history of secessionist rebellions.

Indonesia won sovereignty over Papua, a former Dutch colony on the western half of New Guinea island, in 1969 after a vote among a select group of Papuans widely seen as a sham.

Many Papuans accuse Indonesia's military of violating human rights in the province and complain that the bulk of earnings from its rich natural resources flow to Jakarta.