Sydney – Independence leaders from the Indonesian province of Papua issued a plea in Melbourne on Thursday for the United Nations to intervene in the escalating conflict between separatists and the Indonesian authorities.

The pro-independence Papua Presidium Council has called for a peaceful resolution to the current security crisis, "with the objective of protecting the Papuans from ... killings, mass murders, rape, violence and torture ... currently being perpetrated by Indonesia's state security 'instrumentalities'."

Council spokesman Franzalbert Joku said the UN should take immediate steps to reinstate "peace and normalcy" in Papua, also known as Irian Jaya. It should also sponsor peace negotiations between the council and the Indonesian government on neutral ground before February 26, 2001, he said.

The council's four-point peace plan also calls on Indonesia to release all Papuan detainees arrested during the latest crackdown and immediately cease repressive military interventions in the province.

Indonesian authorities have launched a major crackdown on separatist activity in the contested province in response to a rise in pro-independence activity from December 1, which marked the anniversary of a failed declaration of independence in 1961.