Jakarta – Police in the remote Indonesian province of Irian Jaya arrested five men including two officials and a priest for suspected separatism, including calling for a pro-independence rally, a report said Thursday.

The police in Jayapura, the main town of Irian Jaya, arrested a man identified as Sem Yaru on Monday for calling on people to join a mass pro-independence rally in Jayapura planned for Friday, the Suara Pembaruan daily said.

On Wednesday, police also arrested Don Flassy, secretary of the Irian Jaya provincial development planning board, priest Ansanay, Lauren Mahuwe, a member of the Jayapura district administration staff, and a fourth man identified only as Barnabas Yufuwai, the daily said.

Suara Pembaruan quoted local police officers as saying that the four were suspected of planning to hold a meeting of the Independent Western Papua Committee.

Jayapura Police Chief Lieutenant Colonel Pieter Silooy told the daily that Flassy had sent invitations for the meeting, using the committee's letterhead. Leaflets calling for a peaceful rally at the Mandala open sports stadium in Jayapura on October 2, had been circulating in Jayapura for days.

The leaflets, signed by the group's "action coordinator", Sem Yaru, said the rally would be attended by government officials, religious and tribal leaders as well as many public figures. The leaflets claimed that the rally would become an official platform for a dialogue between the government and tribal leaders on the demand for independence for the state of Papua.