42 members of the new Papuan People's Council have taken office during a heavily guarded swearing-in ceremony.
About 600 police were deployed around the governer's office in Jayapura, the capital of the Indonesian province of Papua.
About 100 protesters outside the ceremony called the new council illegitimate.
Voting for the council's members was not open to the public but only to select groups chosen by the government, they said.
Protesters were angry that Catholic leaders had been excluded from selecting the 14 religious councilors.
Indonesian Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf said the members of the council were democratically elected and approved by all relevant groups.
Mr. Ma'ruf said the council would work to ensure the human and customary rights of all Papuans were protected.
