Marianne Kearney, Jayapura – Just six months ago, Irian Jaya's diverse tribal and ethnic groups gathered for a historic Papuan congress and agreed to struggle for independence together. Today, however, the various pro-independence groups in Irian Jaya or West Papua led by the Papuan Presidium are fracturing along tribal lines.

The presidium itself – established to negotiate for Papua's autonomy without violence – is now being suspected of colluding with the government to rob Papuans of their independence.

While villagers are keen to explain that they all support the main independence group – they followed the presidium's orders not to raise the Morning Star flag after December 1 – they argue that the traditional means of warfare is the only way now to obtain independence. "It shouldn't be delayed. We've already waited a long time. With all these soldiers arriving we'll be killed so it's better we're free quick," said villager Yulius Kapojo.

Mr Yulius, like most other villagers, expected the presidium to declare Irian Jaya's independence on its original 39th anniversary on December 1 which has never been recognised by Jakarta. However, that never came about and now even members of the Satgas Papua, a pro-independence militia originally organised by the Papuan Presidium, say they want a new leadership.

In Jayapura, the leader of the People's Penis Gourd Association (Koteka), also said the group has had enough with negotiation and is preparing for war. Mr Lusi Kartoit, the group's organiser, said they and the Papua Freedom rebels (OPM), who have been fighting a low-level guerilla war since 1962, have lost faith in the Papuan Presidium which they accuse of only trying to make money from the negotiations.

According to him, their brothers in the highlands, the OPM, have been preparing all week for war and have sent messages to villages throughout the Baliem valley and around Jayapura to begin guerilla-style attacks.

Meanwhile, a band of Papuan separatist rebels have also established refugee camps on the Papuan New Guinea and Irian Jaya border. Busloads of people have been arriving at Indonesia's only land border post with Papua New Guinea every day for the past five days, bringing their belongings and setting up camp in an attempt to attract attention to their cause and create a humanitarian crisis.

But the Indonesian government yesterday said it would disarm main rebel groups in Aceh, Irian Jaya, West Timor and other provinces in a nationwide disarmament programme if peaceful talks failed to resolve problems.

Currently, like the Presidium leaders, even the villagers have been suspected of abandoning the independence cause. "We're afraid that some support autonomy because they are looking for money to survive," said Mr Enos Haluk in a highlands village.

While the future of autonomy remains unclear, it seems certain that there will be more violence as more and more frustrated independence groups prepare to declare independence while the government toughens its stance against the separatists.