INDONESIAN security forces fired on a mass meeting of Papuans yesterday and arrested leaders and activists after participants at the Papuan People's Congress declared independence for the restive region.
There were reports at least one person was killed as thousands of delegates stampeded from the oval where the congress was being held under the close watch of up to 5000 security personnel.
''It started about 30 minutes after the congress was completed,'' Oktovianus Pogau, an activist, said. ''People were running in all directions … [the military] and police are everywhere on the streets, armed.''
Representatives from more than 200 indigenous Papuan tribes had elected Forkorus Yoboisembut as their president and Edison Waromi as prime minister. Mr Yoboisembut then declared independence from Jakarta's rule, prompting police to detain him.
According to another witness, the leader's bodyguards attempted to stop the arrest and police responded by firing their weapons. Mr Yoboisembut and Mr Waromi were reportedly detained, with other activists.
Papua's military commander, Major-General Erfi Triassunu, confirmed the shooting, but insisted it was only a warning. He told the Jakata Globe there were no casualties and the shots were fired in response to the announcement of independence.
The Papuan People's Congress is a significant event for indigenous Papuans, just the third held in the past 50 years. Several thousand people attended from across Papua.
The first congress occurred in 1961, when the western half of New Guinea island was still in Dutch hands. The second occurred in 2001 during the brief ''Papuan Spring'' when the former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid allowed open political discussion about the future of the region.
Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a controversial vote involving 1025 delegates hand-picked by Jakarta and kept under guard by the military, supposedly satisfying a United Nations requirement that Papuans be given an act of self-determination.
Ever since, separatist sentiment has been widespread as the Indonesian military, police and intelligence services crack down on dissent and independence supporters.
For the past month, the world's biggest gold and copper mine, operated by the US mining giant Freeport McMoRan, has been disrupted by industrial disputes. Papua has abundant natural resources but remains Indonesia's poorest region and many locals believe their wealth is being plundered by foreigners and interests in Jakarta.
