Michael Richardson, Tembagapura – Nestled in a small valley 1,850 meters above sea level with cliffs and forest-clad mountains towering above, this company mining town with its subsidized canteen, store, clubs and bars is aptly called Tembagapura, or Copper City, in the Indonesian language.

Agencies in Jakarta and Jayapura – Police in Irian Jaya yesterday arrested Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay for allegedly fomenting rebellion as the troubled province geared up to commemorate the 39th anniversary of its failed effort to win independence.

Jakarta – Irian Jaya Police arrested on Wednesday proindependence figure Theys Hiyo Eluay for alleged treason as people in the province were bracing for a rally to commemorate the unrecognized 1961 declaration of independence on Friday.

Jakarta – Key dates in the history of the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, otherwise known as West Papua, where separatists Friday will mark the 39th anniversary of their declaration of independence.

1824: An Anglo-Dutch treaty gives Irian Jaya to the Netherlands.

Vaudine England – Jakarta is working on faulty information and might be "stupid" for its plans to stifle independence sentiment in Irian Jaya, a leading Papuan human rights advocate says.

Don Greenlees, Jakarta – It is easy to see what has gone wrong for Indonesia in Irian Jaya. On the Jayapura airport road, a Buginese taxi driver who has lived in the city for 30 years refers to indigenous Papuans as "orang hutan" (orang-outang) and in case his passengers don't get the point he adds "monyet" (monkey).

Reuters in Jakarta – Indonesia is running a secret campaign to stop the rich and restive province of Irian Jaya breaking away, using a combination of bullying, clandestine operations and persuasion, internal documents show.

Tony Parkinson – The elder statesman of Asian politics, Lee Kuan Yew, has warned Indonesia that it cannot afford to risk making the same mistakes in West Papua that it did in East Timor.

In an interview with The Age, Singapore's senior minister issued a blunt caution to Indonesia, an ASEAN partner and Singapore's biggest neighbor.

Jakarta – Independence celebrations in Indonesia's eastern province of West Papua will go ahead next week despite stern warnings from Jakarta, the province's independence leader said yesterday.

Jakarta – Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer should stay out of Irian Jaya's affairs, the man spearheading a growing separatist movement in the remote Indonesian province said Thursday.

Pip Hinman – Prime Minister John Howard, under pressure, once described the successive Australian governments' approaches to East Timor as "bipartisan wrong policy". Yet this hasn't influenced his views on the self-determination struggle being waged by the West Papuan people.

Jakarta – Thousands of settlers have fled from Wamena town in Irian Jaya (West Papua), following last months ethnic rioting that left at least 31 people killed and dozens badly wounded.

Jakarta – A flood of settlers who dominate the economy, Islamization and human rights abuses by the military are at the root of growing separatist sentiments in Indonesia's province of Irian Jaya, a researcher said.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia is sending 1,300 more combat-ready troops to West Papua as its army chief, General Endriartono Sutarto, warned that secessionist demands could break up the country.

Ben Dolven, Jayapura, Wamena and Timika – No matter where you go in Irian Jaya, it's hard to avoid the signs that this remote province is desperate to break free of Indonesia. Street vendors hawk flags and T-shirts reading "Ballot Yes, Bullet No" in the main square of the capital, Jayapura.

Jakarta – Papua Presidium Council (PDP) chief Theys Hiyo Eluay and six other PDP leaders will soon be tried for alleged separatist activities, Irian Jaya Police chief Brig. Gen. Sylvanus Yulian Wenas said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – A massive clash broke out in Irian Jaya (West Papua) yesterday between transmigrants and natives. There were no immediate reports of any casualties, although there were many injuries. The violence occurred at the central market in Abepura subdistrict and lasted for at least one hour, Antara reported.

Tom Allard, Brunei – The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer, has rejected suggestions of double standards over Australia's refusal to back an independence vote in West Papua, saying Indonesia would disintegrate into a "bloodbath" should the province secede.

Jakarta – Police and separatist leaders in Indonesia's Irian Jaya province on Friday appeared set for further conflict over a banned separatist flag, just one day after a landmark compromise agreement was reached.

Pip Hinman – The efforts by the West Papuan people to garner international support for self-determination have taken a number of leaps forward recently.

Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) supports the West Papuan people's demand for a free act of national self-determination.

Jakarta – Three members of the pro-independence civilian guard in Indonesia's troubled Irian Jaya province have been shot dead and at least 18 other people injured, including a policeman, a report and residents said Sunday.

Jakarta – Local authorities vowed on Thursday to take stern measures against the proindependence Papuan taskforce who have commandeered a government-owned provincial art building as their headquarters.

Jakarta – A pro-independence leader Wednesday ordered his supporters in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya to ignore a police order to vacate a building and lower a separatist flag flown there, a report said.

Hamish Mcdonald, Tarawa, Kiribati – Pacific nations – including Australia – have given secessionists in Indonesia's West Papua province an important win with a formal statement of concern about bloodshed in the territory.

Chris McCall, Merauke – West Papuans will not let the separatist flag be brought down in the south even if their leaders agree, their regional chief says.

Chris McCall, Wamena – Separatist leaders in Irian Jaya'stense Baliem Valley say they are under police pressure to accept sole responsibility for bloody riots this month, but have so far resisted. Their claim came amid a military build-up in the valley ahead of December 1, the date Irian Jayans regard as their independence day.

Chris McCall, Wamena – Police in Irian Jaya's remote Baliem Valley say they have removed all separatist Morning Star flags from the troubled region. Police chief Superintendent Daniel Suripatty vowed the flags would stay down permanently.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia yesterday deported a United States citizen, accused of spying in Irian Jaya, as the US accused the Defence Minister of whipping up anti-American feelings.

Jakarta – Indonesia's top security minister on Monday defended the actions of police who shot dead separatist supporters during a protest in remote Irian Jaya province 17 days ago, sparking riots that killed 31 people.

Jakarta – Some 65 migrants were trapped in a hinterland town in Indonesia's separatist province of Irian Jaya after thousands of local tribesmen prevented them from leaving, a report said Monday.

Vaudine England – Excitement pervaded the airport at Sentani, near Irian Jaya's capital Jayapura. As tourists and missionaries tried to collect their luggage, suspense rippled through the crowd of indigenous Papuans.

Melbourne – Church leaders from Australia and Irian Jaya called here Friday for an East Timor-style independence ballot to stop escalating violence in the troubled Indonesian province.

Jakarta – The man spearheading the independence movement in Indonesia's Irian Jaya province on Saturday played down fears of further bloodshed in the remote area over flying the separatist Morning Star flag. "There will be no more bloodshed," Theys Eluay, chief of the Papua Praesidium Council, told AFP.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Police have backed away from today's deadline for the lowering of separatist flags in West Papua, saying that any attempt to enforce it would have provoked more bloody clashes in the troubled Indonesian province.

Jakarta – Police said that the Presidium of the Papuan Council (PDP) onFriday has begun to take conciliatory steps following the government's decision to crackdown on pro-independence forces in Irian Jaya.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian government, toughening its stance against separatists in Irian Jaya yesterday, officially banned the hoisting of the Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag because it had been "misused to symbolise struggle to secede" from the unitary state.

Port Moresby – Human rights lawyer and Melanesian Solidarity (Melsol) activist Powes Parkop has warned that West Papua will soon erupt into a more explosive and bloodier war than East Timor.

The Papua New Guinea government must deal with the West Papua issue with urgency and honesty, he said.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Troops with shoot-on-sight orders were yesterday patrolling a remote valley in Irian Jaya, where 40 people are believed to have died in violence triggered by the killing of two indigenous people by police at a separatist flag-raising ceremony.

Jakarta – Settlers sought refuge at military and police posts yesterday as the Indonesian police, with orders to shoot on sight, began restoring order in a remote Irian Jaya town following the slaughter of 40 people in the latest violence.

Jakarta – A senior Indonesian general has warned that foreign powers – including the United States – may be plotting to take over the remote province of Irian Jaya, the official Antara news agency reported yesterday.

Tom Hyland – His childhood was spent in the jungle, where his family had fled an invading army. By the age of 11 he was leading a unit of independence guerrillas. He endured a decade in Indonesian prisons where he celebrated the fall of President Suharto with Jose "Xanana" Gusmao.

Jakarta – Irian Jaya Police Chief Brigadier General S.Y. Wenas yesterday ordered his personnel to continue a crackdown on separatist flags flying in the country's troubled easternmost province.

Jakarta – Three people were killed and seven others injured yesterday when police clashed with a crowd defending a separatist flag hoisted in the Indonesian province of Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya.

Police said the clash broke out after about 500 people hoisted the separatist Morning Star flag outside a church in the coastal oil town of Sorong.

Jakarta – Hundreds of people staged a peaceful rally in the West Papua (Irian Jaya) capital of Jayapura yesterday, demanding the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) cancel its decision to issue a decree that would prevent any parts of Indonesia from seceding and declaring independence.

Jackie Woods, Sydney – A change in how the Indonesian government is managed, which will see Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri handle the bulk of domestic affairs, will exacerbate the already tense situation in Papua, a leading independence activist said Thursday.

For 30 years, West Papua has been terrorised and plundered by its conquerors. Now the hill tribes are fighting back, reports Ian Williams

Erson Wenda stands on a ridge above the remote Baliem Valley, gesturing wildly with his arms, tears in his eyes. "The soldiers came from over there. They took people from my village, tying their hands, and brought them to these holes."

Vaudine England, Jayapura – Tension is rising in the province of Irian Jaya, with almost daily incidents of protest, killing or intimidation occurring across the vast land mass.

A combination of indicators – ranging from a sudden lack of public transport to outright riots – suggest serious instability is threatening Indonesia's eastern-most province and last frontier.

Vaudine England – Large Papuan women with hatchets resting between their feet and men in war paint with traditional tall bows and arrows yesterday stopped refugees from the strife-torn Maluku Islands coming ashore in Irian Jaya.

Jakarta – At least 15,000 separatists staged a peaceful protest in the Irian Jaya town of Manokwari yesterday to mark the 1969 referendum that turned the island into an Indonesian province. The Papuans covered a monument commemorating the referendum with black cloth, saying it was a monument to a historical lie.