Govt moves to quash support for OPM

JAKARTA: The government will step up diplomatic measures to dissuade countries from hinting at political support or recognition of rebels in the eastern most province of Papua.

"We'll use global diplomacy so that the world wholly respects and support the territorial integrity of Papua," Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday.

The Free Papua Movement (OPM) has been fighting a low scale war for the natural resource rich province's independence since the 1970s.

Last week, Vanuatu, a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, irked the Indonesian government when it indicated it would open OPM's first embassy on the island state. -- Antara