Indonesian police question Irian Jayan separatist

The organiser of a congress that backed independence for the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya has been questioned by police in an investigation into separatist activities.

The man, Thaha al-Hamid, who heads the Papua Presidium, was questioned for three hours in Irian Jaya¿s main town, Jayapura.

A lawyer for Mr al-Hamid said police regarded his client and another congress organiser, Theys Eluay, as separatist suspects.

Fomenting separatism in Indonesia is punishable with life imprisonment. The one-week Papuan People's Congress ended in Jayapura earlier this month with a resolution calling on Indonesia to recognise a four-decade bid for independence.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service