Jayapura – Indonesian police arrested 13 Papuans on Tuesday as activists demanded sovereignty at rallies to mark the 48th anniversary of Papuan "independence", a police spokesman said.
Riot police made the arrests as they dispersed up to 40 activists who had gathered in the main Papuan town of Jayapura carrying posters with banned separatist symbols, he said.
"We are questioning 13 people as they have broken the country's laws by holding a protest without a permit," provincial police spokesman Agus Riyanto told AFP.
In the Indonesian capital Jakarta, dozens of Papuans demanded independence at a peaceful rally outside the presidential palace as police stood guard.
They carried a red banner reading "Give back the sovereignty of the West Papua nation" and posters bearing the outlawed "Morning Star" Papuan national flag.
Scores of Papuans have been jailed and abused in Indonesian prisons for displaying the Papuan flag and other separatist symbols, a crime punishable by life in jail under Indonesian law, according to rights groups.
Pro-independence Papuans celebrate December 1 as a national day commemorating former colonial power The Netherlands' 1961 recognition of Papua's right to self-rule.
Indonesia has never recognised Papuan sovereignty and incorporated the vast, resource-rich territory in 1969 after a disputed UN-backed referendum held among a few hundred tribal leaders.
"We are not Indonesian people, we are a different race. We want independence. We will fight till the end to get our independence," one of protesters at the presidential palace shouted through a loud speaker.
"Under Indonesian rule we're becoming poorer and poorer and many of us have suffered torture and violence. The Indonesian government only exploits our rich natural resources but ignores our prosperity."
In Sentani town near Jayapura, more than 100 people took part in joint prayers at the home of slain pro-independence leader Theis Hiyo Eluay, who was kidnapped and murdered in 2001.
US-based Human Rights Watch said in June that torture and abuse of Papuan prisoners in Indonesia was "rampant" and should be investigated.
Three Papuan protesters – Roni Ruben Iba, Isak Iba and Piter Iba – were sentenced to between two and three years in jail for subversion earlier this month for raising a banner similar to the "Morning Star" flag.