ABC AUSTRALIA, 01/12/2003 13:32:40
Indonesian police warn Papuans against marking anniversary
Indonesian police have warned people in the troubled province of Papua against trying
to mark the anniversary of an independence proclamation.
Deputy police spokesman in Jakarta, Brigadier-General Sunarko, says police in
Papua will be on alert for any sign of trouble.
He has reminded Papuans not to fly flags such as the Bintang Kejora (the Morning
Star), or display any other symbol deemed not to belong to the Indonesian republic.
The morning flag is the flag of the outlawed Western Papua State that was proclaimed
on December 1, 1962 by several pro-independent activists.
Indonesia, which took control of the territory from Dutch colonisers in 1963, did not
recognise the proclamation
The Papua governor, the heads of the provincial police and military and the provincial
attorney-general last month signed a document banning the December 1
commemoration, including the flying of the separatist flag.
01/12/2003 13:32:40 | ABC Radio Australia News
© 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
