Jakarta – Australian Prime Minister John Howard yesterday reassured President Abdurrahman Wahid that Australia respects Indonesia's territorial integrity, and agreed to patch up diplomatic relations.

Peter Hartcher – Australia came perilously close to war with Indonesia last year. Australian policy planners know that we could easily veer towards a collision once more. And if you look at the speed with which things have gone badly wrong in our region, you'd be foolish to dismiss the threat.

Andrew Kilvert, Jayapura – Violence has broken out between militias supporting independence and autonomy in the easternmost Indonesian province of West Papua.

Fighting broke out at Waena in the capital, Jayapura, on Tuesday evening when a pro-autonomy militia known as Satgas Merah Putih (Red and White Taskforce) attacked a group of independence militia with machetes.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has warned the military against using violence in dealing with calls for independence in West Papua, while one of his top officials yesterday warned Papuans against acts of "treason".

Chris McCal, Jakarta – Jakarta yesterday rejected a formal demand for independence by a West Papuan congress, slamming the meeting as invalid and its declaration as possibly illegal.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid yesterday warned of a military crackdown in Papua after a landmark congress in the far-eastern province declared it was no longer part of his country.

Andrew Kilvert and agencies, Jayapura – West Papua yesterday announced the formation of a government and declared independence from Jakarta, as Indonesian soldiers and riot police continued to patrol the streets of the capital, Jayapura.

Jakarta – The US Embassy in Jakarta said Monday that Washington didn't support "independence for Papua or any other part of Indonesia."

It said it had sent an embassy officer to a congress held by Papua nationalists as an observer in line with standard diplomatic practice.

Neles Tebay, Jayapura – Defying warnings from Jakarta, the Papuan Congress ended on Sunday with a declaration that West Papua, or Irian Jaya as the territory is still officially called, is no longer a part of the Republic of Indonesia.

Lindsay Murdoch and Andrew Kilvert – A Jakarta-based organisation with criminal connections and links to Indonesia's military and Golkar, the former ruling party, is secretly funding part of a burgeoning independence movement in the country's far eastern province of Papua.

Reuters in Jakarta – A landmark congress discussing the future of Indonesia's Irian Jaya province is set to close on Saturday with an affirmation of the right to independence but without the setting up of a provisional separatist government.

Jayapura – Speaker after speaker at a landmark conference on the future of Indonesia's West Papua province called for independence yesterday as alarm bells over a possible new East Timor sounded in Jakarta.

Mark Abberton, Sydney – Representatives of the West Papuan freedom movement, meeting at a conference here on April 19, expressed hope about new openings for greater unity and organisation in their struggle for independence from Indonesia.

Jakarta – A tribal war between two villages in the remote mountains of West Papua has left more than 100 people dead in the past year, the official Antara news agency reported Monday.

The conflict pits indigenous people from Wampe and Bilaga villages in the Puncak Jaya region of the Indonesian province, Antara said.

Alastair McLeod, Jayapura – West Papuans have emerged from the far west town of Fak Fak with reports of East Timorese style militia threatening and attacking the local people.

In recent weeks 50 supporters of the movement for an independent West Papua have fled Fak Fak to the capital Jayapura in fear of the newly formed Sargas Merah Putih – the red and white militia.

Jakarta – As a compromise to the intense calls for independence, resource-rich Irian Jaya is offering to remain within Indonesia if it retains a bigger portion of its own wealth, an initiative bill submitted by the province suggests.

Jakarta – An armed mob yesterday torched a market in Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia's eastern province of Irian Jaya, after a youth was stabbed by migrant traders, police said.

"The Entrop market was burned to the ground this morning but the fire has now been put out," said Sergeant Major Bahar from the Irian Jaya police headquarters.

Jayapura – Local police have officially named nine leading Irianese figures here as suspects for allegedly plotting against the state. Irian Jaya Police chief of detectives Col. Tukarno said on Wednesday that the nine were named suspects for their alleged involvement in a series of proindependence rallies since late last year.

Mark Abberton – Five hundred people participated in a four-day congress beginning February 23 in Sentani, in Indonesian- controlled West Papua, to discuss efforts to build a unified leadership for independence. About 1000 security personnel stood outside but did not intervene.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has asked the Indonesian Government to investigate findings that its armed forces lured villagers to their deaths by using a helicopter disguised to look like a Red Cross transport.

Jakarta - Warning shots were fired on Thursday as mobs attempted to prevent police from clearing barricades from the streets in a town in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, police said.

Jayapura – One man was killed when police opened fire on mobs attacking a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) police headquarters in the easternmost province of Irian Jaya, police said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesian police fired warning shots in eastern Irian Jaya province on Wednesday to disperse an angry mob which attacked a police headquarters after the death of a pro-independence student, police said.

Mark Abberton – Following the downfall of the Suharto and Habibie governments, the election of the "reform" president, Abdurrahman Wahid, and the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from East Timor, the Indonesian government has been forced to grant some democratic reforms, including offering "special autonomy status" to West Papua (Irian Jaya) and Aceh.

Jody Betzien, Melbourne – Two human rights workers from West Papua visited Melbourne last week to draw attention to the training of pro-Indonesian militia and arbitrary killings in the Indonesian province.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's fledgling civilian Government has come under renewed pressure from separatists in the far-flung province of Papua as a military crackdown reignites tensions in the staunchly Muslim province of Aceh.

Jakarta – Nine policemen were injured and three residents suffered gunshot wounds when police opened fire during a riot in a town in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, a report said Thursday.

Jakarta – The life expectancy of the Irianese is about 40 years, the shortest among ethnic groups in Indonesia, due to malnutrition and a poor health service, a senior local official says.

Jakarta – State-run Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) went off the air in the Irian Jaya town of Fakfak on Saturday after its office was ransacked in rioting the previous day, a staff member said.

"For the time being, RRI in Fakfak will not broadcast, in line with a directive issued by the director," an RRI employee said by telephone.

Tim Murphy – Students from West Papua occupied the Dutch embassy in Jakarta on January 17. They are demanding that Holland fulfil its promises to help West Papua achieve independence from Indonesia.

Andrew Kilvert – Military authorities and political enforcers associated with the former Soeharto regime appear to be building up East Timor-style militias in the contested province of West Papua, human rights activists warned yesterday.

Jakarta – Thousands of people attended a ceremony to hoist the separatist Free West Papua flag in a town in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, a report said here Tuesday.

Reuters in Jakarta – Separatist leader Thom Beanal says Indonesia's eastern Irian Jaya province could be independent by 2003 but freedom may have a bloody price, as it did in East Timor.

Mr Beanal said yesterday separatists planned to convene a congress later this year to map out a strategy for independence, which they want to achieve through dialogue with Jakarta.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has arrived in the remote eastern province of Irian Jaya, were calls for independence have been rising, to watch the first local sunrise of 2000, the state Antara news agency said Friday.

Jayapura – A House of Representatives delegation said here on Saturday no foreign country would recognize an independent Irian Jaya.

Linda Kaucher – Indonesian military forces shot protesters trying to prevent them lowering the West Papuan independence flag in the south coast town of Timika on December 1. Approximately 30 people were injured by the gunfire, and at least 10 people were arrested.

Andrew Kilvert, Timika – Tensions remained high in this isolated mining town on the Irian Jaya south coast yesterday, a day after Indonesian troops opened fire on unarmed pro-independence protesters, injuring 55 people.

The protesters yesterday re-established their burnt tent embassy in the Catholic church grounds where the shooting took place.

Jayapura – A day after dozens of people were injured in a clash between police and demonstrators, hundreds of protesters demanding independence for Irian Jaya rallied Friday at the site of the violence.

Associated Press in Jayapura – Dozens were injured on Thursday when Indonesian security forces at a remote mining town fired on about 2,000 demonstrators who demanded independence for Irian Jaya province in West New Guinea, human rights activists said.

They said the shootings took place when troops tried to lower a rebel flag flying outside a church.

Jakarta – Hundreds of thousands of pro-independence supporters Wednesday joined peaceful demonstrations across Irian Jaya on the anniversary of the separatist movement as activists defied military warnings and hoisted their flag.

Thousands of pro-independence West Papuans held a "birthday celebration" for leader Theys Eluay in the Sentani subdistrict of the capital, Jayapura, on November 12. Local residents say that between 3000 and 5000 people participated; Indonesian police claimed it was just 300.

Karen Polglaze, Jakarta – Rex Rumakiek knew the ballot would be rigged when the Indonesian administrators abolished the local parliament after it had approved a one man, one vote system.

It wasn't only the Indonesians. It appeared that the rest of the world was also prepared to sacrifice the rights of the West Papuan people for its own geostrategic interests.

Jakarta – Some 200 people seeking independence for Irian Jaya marched into the parliament complex Thursday as President Abdurrahman Wahid renewed his support for a referendum in Aceh province, witnesses said.

The demonstrators, both men and women, got into the complex in central Jakarta while the house was in session, but did not enter the chamber itself.

Jakarta – Security forces broke up a peaceful protest by thousands of residents in Indonesia's remote Irian Jaya province, reports said Tuesday.

The state Antara news agency said the mass demonstration in the district of Fakfak was staged shortly after noon Monday to push for the resignation of district head, Colonel Suparlan Pasambuna.

Jakarta – Some 3,000 residents in the remote Indonesian province of Irian Jaya went on the rampage Friday, demanding the recovery of the bodies of some 300 victims of a boat tragedy, police said.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military has issued a "full alert" security status in Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia's remote eastern Irian Jaya province, as it enters third day Saturday of massive protests over the government's decision to split the province in three.

Jakarta – A second day of clashes between local tribesmen and migrants in the mining town of Timika in Indonesia's remote Irian Jaya province killed four people, raising the death toll in two days to 14, reports and a tribal activist said Friday.

Jakarta – Angry mobs paralyzed downtown Manokwari in Indonesia's remote Irian Java province on Saturday, a day after police shot dead one man and wounded two others during an outbreak of violence.

Jakarta – Scores of students in the easternmost Indonesian province of Irian Jaya have protested over the alleged involvement of British elite troops in a violent hostage-rescue operation in 1996, a report said Friday.

Antony Balmain – As East Timor prepares to vote in a United Nations ballot to decide its future, documents show Australia played an active and secret role to ensure Irian Jaya became a part of Indonesia in another UN-supervised vote – the so-called Act of Free Choice in 1969.