Indonesia's plan to divide its province of Papua into three new provinces is meeting stiff opposition from local leaders in the region.
They have warned the proposal will undermine their confidence in autonomy laws and spark new support for independence.
The special autonomy law, passed in 2001 in a bid to quell popular demands for independence, gives the Papuan parliament control over most of the province's affairs, except for defence and security forces.
Cabinet ministers announced last week, that President Megawati Sukarnoputri had signed a presidential decree which called for the speeding up of a 1999 law which divides the province into three separate areas.
The Courier Post reported that religious leaders from Catholic, Protestant and Islamic congregations have issued a joint statement opposing the plan.
And an MP from the conservative Golkar Party, Dr Simon Patrice Morin, said the President's decision showed how little Jakarta respected the rights of Papua's parliament.
