West Papua: 41 arrested for raising Free Papua flag

West Papua, July 19, 2008: Indonesian police detained 41 people in Fakfak, 890 kilometers west of Jayapura, for allegedly hoisting the "Morning Star" flag of the West Papuan independence movement. Ten years ago, this month, hundreds of West Papuans were massacred by the Indonesian occupation forces in Biak for participating in a flag-raising ceremony - and there have been recent protests in West Papua and around the world to mark the 10th anniversary of "Bloody Biak".

Papua Police spokesman Senior Commissioner Agus Rianto said three of detainees hoisted the flag in front of the former people's self-determination vote (Pepera) office. All 41 are former political prisoners.
Agus said police had seized the flag and several documents, written in a local dialect, as well as several sharp weapons as evidence.
"The police will conduct an investigation to obtain further information," he added.
Under Article 106 of the Criminal Code, the detainees can be charged for plotting a coup. The charge carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
The flag has long been a symbol of the region's separatist rebellion, with the Papuan Tribal Council urging the government to recognize the flag as a cultural symbol for Papuans.
Wilhelmina Woy, secretary of the council's Fakfak office, said the flag-raising had been engineered by other parties, and called on the police to arrest the real culprits and release the innocent detainees.
Source: Jakarta Post

* See also Economist article
* Green left Weekly article "West Papuan students need justice"