Irian Jaya is Indonesia's wildest and richest possession, representing 20 percent of the nation's land. Timber conglomerates have only begun to exploit its untracked jungles.

Irian Jaya is home to a large native Melanesian population, mostly Christians, who share no ethnic, cultural or religious ties to the rest of overwhelmingly Muslim Indonesia.

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 9 -- Activity in Indonesia's remote Irian Jaya province remained at a standstill Monday after clashes between security forces and independence supporters left at least 40 ...

The Papuans of Irian Jaya--who share the island of New Guinea with Papua New Guinea, which has been independent since 1975--speak 250 languages, some of which are known by only a few hundred people.

Indonesia has detained two independence leaders in Irian Jaya and threatened to haul in others, raising fears of new separatist violence in the eastern province. Bruised by the loss of East Timor ...

In Depth AudioVideo The BBC's Richard Galpin in Jayapura "The separatist movement has gained much momentum over the past year" real56kGeorge Monbiot, Author "People have very little means of resisting ...

Irian Jaya is home to a native Melanesian population of 1.8 million people, most of them Christians, plus another 700,000 settlers from other parts of Indonesia.

The law does not have the full support of the province's people. Working late into the evening, Indonesia's parliament approved the special autonomy law for the eastern province of Irian Jaya.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 struck Irian Jaya, Indonesia on Wednesday, the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences said. The quake was at a depth of 10 km, it added.

jayapura, indonesia: police in indonesia's restless easternmost province of irian jaya have arrested a fifth leader of the independence movement, an officer said tuesday. reverend herman awom was ...