-Caveat Lector- http://cnn.com/ASIANOW/southeast/9912/01/indonesia.01/index.html Separatists raise flag in Indonesia's Irian Jaya province December 1, 1999 Web posted at: 6:04 p.m. HKT (1004 GMT) JAYAPURA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of people participated in the raising of a separatist flag and demanded independence from Indonesia during a peaceful demonstration on Wednesday in the capital of Irian Jaya province. The protest was held despite overtures by Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid <link.wahid.jpg> on Tuesday seeking reconciliation with other restive regions of the world's fourth-largest nation, which has about 200 million residents. The "Morning Star" flag was raised before the Indonesian flag. No violence was reported during the ceremony, which was under tight police security. The event began with a service performed by a Protestant priest. The separatist flag was also raised in other areas of Irian Jaya. "We reject the offer for autonomy -- Independence is the only choice. We demand the withdrawal of the military from Irian Jaya before May 1, 2000," pro-independent leader Theys Eluay said. Calls for independence grow Residents of the huge and remote province have joined a growing number of Indonesians in other regions seeking to secede from the nation after what many consider to be decades of oppressive Jakarta rule. Irian Jaya accounts for 20 percent of Indonesia's land area, but it only has two million people. The province has large gold and copper mines, and many believe it has oil and mineral deposits. On Tuesday, Wahid confirmed he plans to approve an amnesty for the 21 East Timorese political prisoners being held in Indonesia's jails. Eighteen of the detainees are being kept in Jakarta's Cipinang prison. The issue of release of the prisoners was raised Tuesday by East Timorese independence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao and East Timor's Nobel peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta during a meeting with Wahid. "We had pain, bitterness, sweet memories and other things together here," Gusmao, once a political prisoner who spent part of his seven-year detention in Cipinang, said during a visit before meeting Wahid. Gusmao, expected to be the first leader of a free East Timor, said he also asked Wahid to help with the repatriation of 130,000 East Timorese refugees in Indonesian-held West Timor. The Indonesian president vowed to establish close ties with East Timor, and to make amends for his nation's occupation of the region. Wahid: 'Very good meeting' "All in all, this was a very good meeting and the two countries now can continue to look to the future and forget about the past," Wahid said. East Timor voted on August 30 to secede from Indonesia, sparking a rampage of killing, burning and looting by Indonesian forces and their allies. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee. Damage estimates are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. A U.N. team, which will guide the region into independence in two years, is administering East Timor. Australian opposition leader Kim Beazley told reporters in East Timor on Wednesday that East Timorese refugees in Australia should be allowed to stay until conditions in the former colony improve. "If East Timor wants to prosper, to survive, it must forgive," Ramos-Horta said. "It must heal the wounds ... There is not other way. The East Timorese who have had such enormous courage in fighting and resisting must also have equal courage to forgive." In a separate act of reconciliation on Tuesday, Wahid revealed he has secretly tried to meet with the exiled leader of the main separatist group in strife-torn Aceh province. The president added he plans to send a personal envoy to Stockholm, Sweden, to meet Acehnese rebel leader Hassan Tiro. Aceh residents have stepped up their calls for an independence vote in recent weeks. Wahid has said he opposes a vote on secession, but is willing to allow a referendum on whether Islamic law should be imposed in the largely Muslim province. Rebel guerrillas, who have been fighting for independence in Aceh for 23 years, said they plan to mark the anniversary on Saturday in a "big way," but haven't provided additional details. "Let's see whether there will be a big event. We'll see whether it's true or not," Wahid told CNN. Three die in latest violence Three civilians were killed on Tuesday in two separate clashes between rebels and security forces in Aceh, police confirmed. Wahid told CNN he will hold the military accountable for its actions in both Aceh and East Timor. "The most important thing now is that if there is, a big if, if there is wrongdoing from our side, then we'll try to correct them," he said. But Ramos-Horta said East Timor's so-called militias are "small fish." Most of the militias, he suggested, have been terrorized into committing the atrocities in the region. "If the militia leaders return, face their people, acknowledge what they did, explain why they did and apologize, ask for forgiveness, the people of East Timor will forgive them. So there'll be no reprisals, no exclusion of them in the future," he told CNN. Indonesia's government and parliament were urged by the International Commission of Jurists on Tuesday to reform the judiciary to help restore public confidence in the nation's justice system. The ICJ also called on Indonesia to establish a constitutional court. The Geneva-based group also recommended in its report that Indonesia's government set up a truth commission to investigate reports of human rights abuses during nine years of military occupation, which ended last year, in restive Aceh province. Indonesia ponders state of civil emergency Indonesia confirmed on Tuesday it was considering declaring a state of civil emergency in Ambon as the military admitted some troops had taken sides in the religious clashes which have recently he region. The military insisted for months its forces were neutral in fighting between Christians and Muslims, which have claimed hundreds of lives this year. Locals, particularly Christians, have repeatedly accused factions of the military of taking sides. Jakarta Bureau Chief Maria Ressa, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. ======================= Robert F. Tatman Computer Help Desk Desktop & LAN Services Systems Department Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. 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