24 Jan 2006

At least 200 protesters storm parliament in Indonesian province of Papua

9:23 am on 24 January 2006

At least 200 people in the Indonesian province of Papua have stormed the parliament building in the regional centre Jayapura.

News agencies reported witnesses as saying the crowd was calling for Indonesian troops to pull out of the area.

The Associated Press reports calm was restored last night, after a delegates met lawmakers.

A group of 43 Papuans are being held on Australia's Christmas Island where their alleged claims for refugee status are being assessed, after they arrived in far northern Queensland last week in a canoe.

A human rights advocate says there's no link between the boatpeople and the fatal shooting of a student by Indonesian soldiers last week, in the Paniai area which is home to some of the purported asylum seekers.