John Aglionby – This Thursday, December 1, marks the 44th anniversary of the West Papuan people's declaration of independence from their Dutch colonial masters.

Sweden – After a mere five meetings, The Free Acheh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government is scheduled to sign a historic agreement on August 15 in Helsinki, the capital city of

Jakarta – In an apparent attempt to calm the public, the government says it will refrain from paying too much attention to a move to question Indonesia's sovereignty over Papua.

Recommended Action: Please copy the letter below the Background Information or write in your own words and send to:

The Indonesian government will consider anything except independence for tsunami-hit Aceh province as it tries to broker a peace with separatist rebels, a senior minister says.

Agencies – Police personnel clashed on Wednesday with pro-independence Papuans in Trikora field, Jayapura, after the independence supporters hoisted in the area the Bintang Kejora flag,

Violence has flared in the capital of Indonesia's troubled province of West Papua as security forces moved to break up a flag-raising ceremony by independence supporters, a Sydney-based

Jayapura – The governor of West Papua, Jaap Salossa, has forbidden people from commemorating December 1 as Papua's independence day as well as hoisting the morning star flag or other sy

Gunawan Mashar, Makassar The perpetual internal conflicts in West Papua has prompted students originating from Papua who are studying in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassa

Unless West Papua is granted independence from Indonesia, a time bomb will go off affecting Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, according to a West Papuan activist.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – In an attempted show of force, rebels in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Papua launched attacks separately on Indonesian security personnel on Tuesday, leavi

Banda Aceh – A series of explosions that left at least seven people injured, including a five-year-old boy, in the country's troubled province of Aceh rumbled Indonesia's anniversary of

Nethy Dharma Somba and Oyos Saroso, Jayapura/Lampung – One person was killed and seven others injured in a tribal clash in Papua over whether Indonesian Independence Day should be comme

Jakarta – Indonesian police and troops cut down a separatist flag in Papua province on the anniversary Monday of an independence proclamation, activists said, but there were no immediat

Banda Aceh – A court here on Tuesday sentenced a female Aceh independence activist to 11 years imprisonment on charges of treason.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Army soldiers began a four-day military exercise in Biak Numfor regency, Papua, on Monday, but it immediately sparked protests from students and a human r

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura/Jakarta – Ahead of a planned tribal celebration for peace, the situation in Timika, the capital of Mimika regency, abruptly turned tense on Monday following

As Indonesia celebrates 58 years of independence, Four Corners looks at south-east Asia's most brutal and unrelenting conflict ... the Aceh civil war.

M.

Max Lane – When Hasan de Tiro proclaimed the independent state of Aceh and launched the Aceh Sumatra National Liberation Front, also known as the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), in 1978, he a

Jakarta, Sripo – The Indonesian Centre for Reform and Social Emancipation (INCREASE) has put forward a referendum as the solution to resolving the conflict in Aceh.

Please consider adding your name to ASAP's sign-on statement below. This will then be sent to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade.

Former foreign minister Ali Alatas talked to The Jakarta Post's Kornelius Purba about his views on Aceh.

Banda Aceh – Muhammad Nazar, 27, chairman of the Information Center for an Aceh Referendum (SIRA), went on trial here on Thursday for sedition, his second brush with the law in two year

Craig Skehan – Despite its natural splendours, cultural diversity and tragic history of decolonisation gone awry, Papua has not loomed large in world or regional affairs.

Aceh – The police in Banda Aceh are still pursuing a prodemocracy activist Kautsar who mobilized Acehnese to go on strike recently without permission from security authorities.

Bireun – Separatists in Indonesia's Aceh province commemorated the 26th anniversary of their fight on Wednesday with at least one military flag-raising ceremony and vows to keep fightin

Farah Farouque – Flag raising is common at public events.

Banda Aceh – Security authorities in Aceh have arrested 12 members of the pro-independence Front for Acehnese People's Democratic Resistance.

Banda Aceh – At least 5,000 people paraded in Aceh province yesterday to celebrate the country's independence in a show of support for Jakarta's rule over the region.

Nani Farida and Apriadi Gunawan, Banda Aceh/Medan – A series of bomb explosions punctuated the celebration of Independence Day in conflict-torn Aceh, as another bomb explosion rocked a

At least 10 people were wounded when a bomb exploded among a crowd of civil servants preparing to celebrate Indonesia's independence day in the Acehnese capital, officals said.

Jakarta – More than 700 Achenese demanded independence from Indonesia during a demonstration in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on Thursday, just two days before the anniversary of

Kautsar, chairperson of the Acehnese Peoples Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA), attended the second Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference in April to build support for the

Pip Hinman, Sydney – The news that two Acehnese activists sought refuge in the Finnish embassy in Jakarta on April 10 didn't surprise Erwanto, an Acehnese activist currently visiting Au

Jakarta – Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province confirmed they would discuss Jakarta's autonomy law in future peace talks but denied they are softening calls for independence.

Jakarta – Two rebels were killed and two wounded when some 100 members of the separatist Free Papua Movement attacked a police outpost on Wednesday in Indonesia's easternmost province o

Chris McCall, Jayapura – It is a crude report from one tiny area of the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya.

Jakarta – An East Timorese claimed on Saturday that members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have made secret contacts with proindependence East Timorese, asking how the latter won their

Banda Aceh – At least 30 bombs or grenade blasts were heard around the main city in the restive province of Aceh in the run-up to Indonesia's Independence Day Friday, residents said.

Max Lane, Jakarta – More than 500 people, Acehnese and Indonesians, attended a series of lively debates and cultural events at conference organised by the Acehnese People's Democratic R

Banda Aceh – At least three people were killed and four others were wounded in the latest violence between separatist rebels and government forces in the Indonesian province of Aceh, a

Devi Asmarani, Aceh – A simple bus trip at night can turn deadly in this violence-wracked province, where residents live in constant fear of being caught in vicious clashes between Indo

Pip Hinman – The Indonesian military is stepping up its war against the Acehnese people.

Banda Aceh – Violence has again escalated in Aceh with at least 11 people being killed in various incidents on Wednesday, while talks continue between government representatives and the

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 separat

Washington – The United States on Monday bemoaned the latest 'tragic' deaths in Indonesia's restive Irian Jaya province and called on separatist leaders and the Jakarta government to ba

Jayapura – Students in the capital of Irian Jaya vowed Monday to maintain their strike until the restive Indonesian province is granted independence.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jayapura – Indonesian police with riot shields, padded uniforms and automatic weapons stare grimly at barely clothed men from the remote mountains of West Papua in a su

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The indigenous Papuans of Irian Jaya celebrated their claimed independence day yesterday with prayers, peaceful ceremonies and a welcoming speech from the pol