World

Separatist Protests Rock Indonesia

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

November 30, 2000 / 8:28 PM EST / CBS

Police used tear gas outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta on Friday to disperse protesters wanting international support for independence for remote Irian Jaya.

But 2,400 miles away in the restive Indonesian province itself, thousands of separatists — cowered by a massive security clampdown and the arrests of their leaders on subversion charges — stopped short of demanding the same.

Watched over by hundreds of police and troops, they obeyed government orders not to publicly declare secession.

Their day of peaceful protest in the provincial capital, Jayapura, ended after dark when police lowered an outlawed rebel flag without provoking violence from the crowd, which initially had refused to bring it down.

Past attempts by police to haul down flags have ended in bloodshed, including the killings of about 40 people in the town of Wamena in October.

Some protesters sobbed as their "Morning Star" ensign stopped flying.

"We allowed them to lower it to protect our people's safety," said Katerina Yabansubru, a senior pro-independence activist. "It is only a symbol. It doesn't mean our freedom struggle is over."

The controlled calm was not matched in the capital, Jakarta, when, In scenes uncomfortably reminiscent of the 32-year reign of former dictator Suharto, police clashed with about 200 separatists near the U.S. Embassy. The protesters demanded Washington support self-determination for their jungle-covered and mineral-rich homeland, also known as West Papua.

Friday was the 39th anniversary of Irian Jaya's first attempt to form a nation. Tribal leaders in what was then Dutch New Guinea demanded an end to colonial rule on Dec. 1, 1961. Indonesia occupied the province two years later and has fought rebels ever since.

Both Irian Jaya and another region, Aceh, have economic and symbolic significance to Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands and 210 million people.

Irian Jaya, the nation's geographically largest province, some 2,500 miles east from Jakarta, is home to one of the world's biggest gold mines. Oil, gas and minerals lie beneath its thick jungles.

Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra about 1,100 miles northwest of Jakarta, is a major producer of oil, which keeps Indonesia's economy afloat. Although Indonesia is mostly Muslim, the rebels want to introduce Islamic law and re-establish a feudal sultanate.

President Abdurrahman Wahid has called for tough action against those wanting Irian Jaya and other restive provinces to break away from the world's fourth-most populous nation.

Wahid, his embattled 14-month-old government under fire, on Thursday warned the government would not tolerate attempts by separatists in the remote and thinly populated region to break away and he threatened firm action.

Many locals accuse Indonesia of years of human rights abuses and complain their mountainous province has received little ireturn for the vast natural wealth long exploited by Jakarta.

Wahid is fending off calls to resign over a range of crises and scandals. Many believe separatist and communal violence that has killed thousands could help push him from office.

In Maluku province, also known as the Moluccan islands, two people were shot to death Friday after a mob of about 2,000 Muslims threw homemade bombs at security officers.

On Thursday, police said 50 people were massacred in a remote village in the region, about 1,600 miles northeast of Jakarta.

The islands have been the scene of vicious fighting between Muslims and Christians since 1999. More than 4,000 people have been killed.

In the far western province of Aceh, rebel leaders asked that a new round of peace talks with the Indonesian government be postponed for two weeks to Dec. 15, as fighting continued there.

The Free Aceh Movement, which wants an independent Islamic-orientated state, said it needed more time to prepare for negotiations.

Fighting between government forces and the separatists has continued even though a truce was signed in June. More than 250 people have been killed since then, and 5,000 have died in the past decade.