SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) - About 300 West Papuan demonstrators calling for independence for the restive Indonesian region faced off with counterprotesters Saturday in the country's second-largest city. The demonstrators in Surabaya chanted "Freedom Papua" and held banners demanding a referendum for independence to mark Dec. 1, which many West Papuans consider the anniversary of what they say should have been their independence. "We are demanding the truth of our history," a speaker shouted at the crowd at the rally, which was organized by the Papua Students Alliance. The crowd, including many wearing headbands with the morning star flag as a separatist group symbol, was blocked from marching to the city center by scores of counterprotesters from several youth organizations in Surabaya, the capital of East Java province. Some confronted the pro-independence protesters with sharpened bamboos. Members of the two camps pushed each other, but several hundred anti-riot police prevented the two groups from clashing, said East Java police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera. Indonesia took over West Papua from Dutch colonial rule in 1963 and formalized its sovereignty over the region in 1969 through a vote by about 1,000 community leaders, which critics dismissed as a sham. A separatist group called the "Free Papua Movement" has battled Indonesian rule ever since. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)

The protest ended after about two hours. On Saturday, as members of the Liberation Army held a ceremony in neighbouring Nduga to commemorate Papua's independence from Dutch colonial rule on December 1st, 1961, a construction worker nearby snapped a photo of the scene.
At least 19 people are killed as armed group linked to West Papua Liberation Organization attacks construction workers at Trans Papua road project in Nduga Regency, Papua, Indonesia.