Fresh clash injures three in Indonesia's Papua

Fresh clash injures three in Indonesia's Papua

Hundreds of people clashed on the street of a town in Indonesia's
Papua on Sunday in the second brawl to take place following the
inauguration of a new province there a day earlier, police said.

Some 400 people opposed to the new Central Irian Jaya province
as part of a move to split Papua into three, attacked more than
100 pro-province supporters guarding the new governor's office in
the town of Timika, police said.

"The violence took some 156 minutes with both sides throwing
rocks at each other," said Second Sergeant Kenneth of the
district police in Timika.

He said that a few people were injured, including a local
parliamentarian, but he could not give any figure.

But he said no one had been arrested following the incident.

Yance, a doctor on duty at the Timika general hospital, said
three people were treated for injuries sustained from stone
throwing and later discharged.

The clash followed protests Saturday when some 500 supporters
of the new province were attacked by 200 opponents as they
paraded through Timika.

Jakarta wants to split Papua into West and Central Irian Jaya
and Papua provinces. It has already installed a governor for West
Irian Jaya.

The government says the objective is to improve administration
in the huge and mountainous 411,000 square kilometer province.

But the Working Group on Papua, which brings together
activists and legislators, warned Wednesday that the move would
fuel separatist unrest. -- AFP