Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – Police in Yogyakarta broke up a rally Wednesday by about 50 Papuan students after they unfurled a Bintang Kejora flag, the symbol of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM).

The students set out from their boardinghouse on Jl. Kusuma Negara, marching in the direction of Yogyakarta's central post office. They carried banners, some of which read "Referendum Yes" and "Autonomy No", and wore headbands and masks with the Bintang Kejora symbol.

The students also unfurled a banner depicting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla as American puppets, and demanded an investigation of alleged rights abuses in the province.

Eventually the march was halted by about 200 police officers. Representatives of the students attempted to negotiate with the officers to be allowed to continue their rally, but to no avail. Police were forced to detour traffic along Jl. Kusumanegara.

"We, the Papuan people, do not want and do not expect any promises like the ones contained in the special autonomy regulations," one of the students said. The protesters demanded the central government hold a thorough national dialog involving representatives from all segments of Papuan society.

Head of the Yogyakarta Police's operational division, Comr. Zaenal Arifin, who is in charge of security in the city, offered the protesters two options. The first was that the students would be allowed to continue their rally, but without the banners. The second was to return to their boardinghouse. The students chose the second option.

A political observer from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Ari Sujito, said more protesters were publicly displaying separatist symbols, including the OPM and South Maluku Republic (RMS) flags.

He said this was a byproduct of the flagging public legitimacy of the President. "If the government does not take concrete action to curb this deteriorating legitimacy, the situation will be utilized by the President's political opponents," he said. He said this problem would only get more complicated if it was not resolved as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the Jayapura Police in Papua stepped up security Wednesday following the raising of a Bintang Kejora flag at a conference of the Papuan Tradition Council at Cendrawasih Sports Stadium in Jayapura a day earlier. The situation in the city was tense after the incident with a much larger police presence than usual on the streets of the city, Antara reported.

Residents expressed fear the authorities would disrupt the conference, which is scheduled to end on July 6. "We hope the conference participants abide by existing regulations so as not to cause a political disturbance in which all parties would lose," said resident Yesayas B. Kambu.