Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Police have backed away from today's deadline for the lowering of separatist flags in West Papua, saying that any attempt to enforce it would have provoked mo

Jakarta – Police said that the Presidium of the Papuan Council (PDP) onFriday has begun to take conciliatory steps following the government's decision to crackdown on pro-independence f

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian government, toughening its stance against separatists in Irian Jaya yesterday, officially banned the hoisting of the Bintang Kejora (Morning Star

Tom Hyland – His childhood was spent in the jungle, where his family had fled an invading army. By the age of 11 he was leading a unit of independence guerrillas.

Jakarta – Three people were killed and seven others injured yesterday when police clashed with a crowd defending a separatist flag hoisted in the Indonesian province of Papua, formerly

Rayhan Anas Lubis/Swastika & Lyndal Meehan, Banda Aceh – A mass prayer for those killed, raped and abused by the Indonesian Armed Forces and government organised by pro-referendum g

Banda Aceh – Residents in Indonesia's troubled Aceh Province began a strike Wednesday, refusing to conduct any activities or to hoist the red-and-white Indonesian national flag to mark

Jackie Woods, Sydney – A change in how the Indonesian government is managed, which will see Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri handle the bulk of domestic affairs, will exacerbate the

Jakarta – Two men attempting to hoist a separatist flag in Irian Jaya were shot dead by Indonesian police yesterday, hospital staff said.

Biak – Thousands of Irian Jaya people raised for the first time the Morning Star separatist flag without fear of punishment or harsh measures from security authorities on Friday.

Jakarta – A mob of some 200 people set fire to a major market in Jayapura, the main city of the country's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, which is seeking independence.

A Andri/Swastika & LM, Jakarta – The chairman of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), Muhammad Nazar, stated that, based on the results of some 30,000 surveys distributed

James Balowski – Defying warnings from Jakarta, the week-long Papuan People's Congress ended on June 4 with a declaration that West Papua was no longer part of the Republic of Indonesia

Iwan Triono/FW & LM, Jakarta – 350 activists from the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) demonstrated at the House of Representatives building, Central Jakarta, Wednesday dem

Chris McCal, Jakarta – Jakarta yesterday rejected a formal demand for independence by a West Papuan congress, slamming the meeting as invalid and its declaration as possibly illegal.

Neles Tebay, Jayapura – Defying warnings from Jakarta, the Papuan Congress ended on Sunday with a declaration that West Papua, or Irian Jaya as the territory is still officially called,

Andrew Kilvert and agencies, Jayapura – West Papua yesterday announced the formation of a government and declared independence from Jakarta, as Indonesian soldiers and riot police conti

Reuters in Jakarta – A landmark congress discussing the future of Indonesia's Irian Jaya province is set to close on Saturday with an affirmation of the right to independence but withou

Jayapura – Speaker after speaker at a landmark conference on the future of Indonesia's West Papua province called for independence yesterday as alarm bells over a possible new East Timo

Geneva – Separatists from Indonesia's northern Aceh province remain committed to their goal of independence, according to a written statement released hours after agreeing a three-month

Mark Abberton, Sydney – Representatives of the West Papuan freedom movement, meeting at a conference here on April 19, expressed hope about new openings for greater unity and organisati

The following is abridged from a statement by MUHAMMAD NAZAR, chairperson of the presidium board of the Aceh Referendum Information Centre (SIRA), to Indonesia's President Abdurrahman W

Mark Abberton – Five hundred people participated in a four-day congress beginning February 23 in Sentani, in Indonesian- controlled West Papua, to discuss efforts to build a unified lea

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's fledgling civilian Government has come under renewed pressure from separatists in the far-flung province of Papua as a military crackdown reignite

Banda Aceh – A new separatist group acting as an umbrella organization for several pro-independence movements in Aceh province is demanding both the military and the Free Aceh rebels ag

Tim Murphy – Students from West Papua occupied the Dutch embassy in Jakarta on January 17.

Jakarta – Thousands of people attended a ceremony to hoist the separatist Free West Papua flag in a town in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, a report said here Tuesday.

Reuters in Jakarta – Separatist leader Thom Beanal says Indonesia's eastern Irian Jaya province could be independent by 2003 but freedom may have a bloody price, as it did in East Timor

David Lamb, Banda Aceh – Emboldened by East Timor's breakaway, the people of Aceh have embarked on a dangerous journey that could determine the fate of Indonesia itself.

Jayapura – A House of Representatives delegation said here on Saturday no foreign country would recognize an independent Irian Jaya.

Reuters in Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament on Thursday backed away from the idea of allowing any referendum for the troubled province of Aceh.

Tim Dodd, Banda Aceh – Only months after Indonesia's ignominious exit from East Timor, the die is already cast in Aceh, the next rebellious province to demand independence from the Jaka

Derwin Pereira, Pidie – Indonesia's generals are once again losing sleep over the country's westernmost province. Their concern: that Aceh is headed for East Timor-style separatism.

Andrew Kilvert, Timika – Tensions remained high in this isolated mining town on the Irian Jaya south coast yesterday, a day after Indonesian troops opened fire on unarmed pro-independen

Banda Aceh – A leading rights activist warned Friday that including the option of independence in any referendum on the future of the volatile province of Aceh was non-negotiable.

Calls for independence for Aceh are growing by the day, raising fears of a dismemberment of the republic.

Amy Chew, Banda Aceh – The group which mobilised last month's huge pro-independence rally in the restive province of Aceh warned it would hold a referendum on ending Indonesian rule if

Jakarta – Hundreds of thousands of pro-independence supporters Wednesday joined peaceful demonstrations across Irian Jaya on the anniversary of the separatist movement as activists defi

Jakarta – About 2,500 Acehnese Thursday forced their way into the parliament complex here to demand a referendum on self-determination in their province.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – The Indonesian President, Mr Addurrahman Wahid, has ruled out a referendum on independence for Aceh, raising fears of more violence in the resource-rich provi

Thousands of pro-independence West Papuans held a "birthday celebration" for leader Theys Eluay in the Sentani subdistrict of the capital, Jayapura, on November 12.

Karen Polglaze, Jakarta – Rex Rumakiek knew the ballot would be rigged when the Indonesian administrators abolished the local parliament after it had approved a one man, one vote system

Thomas Fuller – Calls for a referendum on independence are growing louder in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh, where a demonstration last week drew hundreds of thousands of people.

Banda Aceh – Up to a million people rallied here Monday to demand a referendum for self-determination in Indonesia's volatile province of Aceh and show they had popular backing.

Agencies in Jakarta – Home Affairs Minister Suryadi Sudirja indicated yesterday the troubled province of Aceh was unlikely to get a referendum soon to decide its political status.

Jakarta – Indonesia's leading newspapers on Friday urged Jakarta to find a peaceful settlement to separatist unrest in Aceh, a day after President Abdurrahman Wahid said he was open to

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Thursday the people of the volatile province of Aceh had the right to an East Timor style referendum, but that his government wo

Associated Press, Sigli – More than 50,000 people rallied in Aceh on Thursday in a massive demonstration of pro-independence fervour, two days after troops opened fire on rock-throwing

Associated Press in Jakarta – A day after President Abdurrahman Wahid said it was not yet time to discuss an independence referendum, thousands of people protested violently in strife-t

Jakarta – Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the separatist-plagued Indonesian province of Aceh to demand an East Timor-style referendum on independence, a report said Friday.