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.

Separatist leaders in turn lambasted Indonesian officials for refusing to recognise reality, adding they could be pushing Papuans towards killing each other in a repeat of last year's violence in East Timor.

Trying to extract himself from the political conflict the meeting has landed him in, President Abdurrahman Wahid said anti-independence voices had been excluded from the seven-day meeting in Jayapura, the capital of the province still officially called Irian Jaya.

Organisers had also broken their word by allowing Westerners to take part, he said. "The Government does not recognise this congress," Mr Wahid said, pointing out that western New Guinea was internationally recognised as Indonesian sovereign territory. But a top independence leader disputed the President's claims. Thom Beanal said there simply were no anti-independence voices among the thousands who took part, and pointed out that migrants from other parts of Indonesia were among the participants.

"Jakarta is trying to form pro-integration and pro-independence camps like in East Timor, Mr Beanal said. Indonesia should be ashamed that they made East Timorese kill each other. They want to make Papuans kill each other. They must know what they are doing."

The President is under heavy pressure over the congress, which he financed to the tune of one billion rupiah (HK$1 million). At the last minute he pulled out of a plan to open it, opening the way for it to turn into a festival for independence, complete with singing and dancing.

Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra warned that the congress was flirting with the limits of the law in its final statement, which insisted that the province had attained independence from Dutch colonialists in 1961, two years before it joined Indonesia in controversial circumstances. "It is tending towards a breach of the law, because it involves national sovereignty," Mr Mahendra said.

But Mr Beanal attacked officials in Jakarta for failing to come and see the reality for themselves, and said Mr Wahid's decision not to attend the congress was disappointing. He also pointed out that Indonesia's own 1945 constitution stated that every country had the right to freedom.

"If Mahendra does not agree with this, he must change the constitution of Indonesia," Mr Beanal said. "We asked the President to come. We wanted him to see for himself what is happening. He cannot find it out from people in Jakarta. A congress means the people talk and if the people talk, we listen."

Politicians in Jakarta have been trying to play down the significance of the congress, but analysts have warned that the Government must take its demands seriously. They point out that the Government's good words about allowing autonomy have so far not turned into anything meaningful. With a cabinet reshuffle looking likely, it was essential that the new-look Government in Jakarta put the Papuan issue near the top of its agenda, according to political commentator Wimar Witoelar.

"They need to be taken seriously, not just with a dialogue but first initiatives," Mr Witoelar said. "Nothing specific has been submitted to the Papuan people and they cannot be expected to act on faith."