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 – 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 – 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.

Jakarta – Two men attempting to hoist a separatist flag in Irian Jaya were shot dead by Indonesian police yesterday, hospital staff said.

The two men were killed during a raid on residents who had raised the "Morning Star" rebel flag in the coastal city of Sorong, hospital worker Ari Dimara said in a telephone interview.

Vaudine England in Jayapura – About 200 Indonesian transmigrants took shelter under the Papuan independence flag in Jayapura this week, following the failure of the central Government to care for them.

The Papuan People's Congress held in Jayapura, Irian Jaya, from May 29 to June 4 declared that the Irianese want to separate from Indonesia. Agus Alue Alua, the congress chairman and deputy secretary of the Papuan Presidium formed to follow up the congress, shares developments with The Jakarta Post's correspondent Neles Tebay.

Biak – Thousands of Irian Jaya people raised for the first time the Morning Star separatist flag without fear of punishment or harsh measures from security authorities on Friday.

Suwarjono/SWA & LM, Jakarta – Unraveling the intricacies of the mining business during the New Order era of former President Soeharto is as difficult as unearthing raw ore miles under the ground.

Nevertheless, Ginandjar Kartasasmita will be central to corruption inquiries into the giant Freeport mine now underway in Commission VIII of the House.

Jakarta – A mob of some 200 people set fire to a major market in Jayapura, the main city of the country's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, which is seeking independence.

The mob attacked the Sentani market early on Saturday, burning hundreds of kiosks and stalls, the SCTV television station said. No one was injured in the fire, it added.

Jakarta – Leaders of the pro-independence movement in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya said Wednesday that President Abdurrahman Wahid had not objected to their bid for independence.

Jayapura – Biak Military chief Lt. Col. Bayu Purwiyono confirmed on Thursday reports that residents of at least 10 villages in the regency had been asked to respond to a poll checking their attitude toward a campaign to set up an independent state in the province.

James Balowski – Defying warnings from Jakarta, the week-long Papuan People's Congress ended on June 4 with a declaration that West Papua was no longer part of the Republic of Indonesia. The congress was extended for a day because of debates over the wording of the declaration; there were fears an outright declaration of independence would antagonise Jakarta.

Jakarta – Five civic leaders, who organised a landmark congress calling on Jakarta to recognise the independence of the Indonesian province of West Papua, face life imprisonment for suspected treason.

Alastair McLeod, Jayapura – Andy Burdam was just sitting down to an evening meal with his family when the police and militiamen arrived. They punched the 45-year-old Papuan elementary school teacher and dragged him away to the local police cells.

Jayapura – The presidium of the Papuan People's Congress plans to meet with President Abdurrahman Wahid on June 25 to submit the result of the recent congress which declared their desire to separate from Indonesia.

Jakarta – Police in Irian Jaya (West Papua) have named two separatist leaders as suspects and charged them with treason following a recent congress at which the country's easternmost province was declared an independent state, a report said yesterday.

Jakarta – Chief of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI), Adm. Widodo AS warned foreigners yesterday against meddling in Irian Jayan or Papua affairs as the region is a legitimate part of the country, adding that the TNI will deal sternly against foreigners who fail to heed the warning.

Jayapura – Minister of Human Rights Affairs Hasballah M. Saad announced on Saturday the establishment of a special team to probe humanitarian crimes in Irian Jaya.

Speaking to journalists after meeting with pro-independence advocates and local leaders in Jayapura, Hasballah said as an initial step, he had sent a team of four to the province to gather facts from the people.

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.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.