Papuans rally for independence from Indonesia

SENTANI, Indonesia (Reuters) - Thousands of people rallied in Indonesia's far eastern Papua province on Monday calling for independence from Jakarta and control over the region's rich natural resources.

The protests in several Papua districts mark the anniversary of a declaration of independence 47 years ago, before the area was incorporated into Indonesia in a disputed referendum.

The crowd, some wearing traditional dress and their faces painted with separatist flags, shouted independence slogans in Sentani, an area near the provincial capital of Jayapura.

"We firmly reject investment and exploitation of natural and human resources in Papua that doesn't guarantee the right of life and the entire ecosystem," Thoha Al Hamid of the Papua Presidium Council, a pro-independence body, told the crowd in a peaceful rally of more than a thousand.

In the western district of Nabire in Papua, a bigger crowd of several thousand also gathered, while a few hundred protesters rallied in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

Separatist groups have stepped up protests in Papua in recent months. There have also been several small bomb blasts, including at an airport in Papua and near a copper mine run by U.S. mining firm Freeport Mcmoran Copper and Gold Inc.

Freeport's Grasberg mine in Papua -- believed to have the world's third-largest copper reserve -- has been a frequent source of controversy over its environmental impact and the share of revenue going to Papuans.

Papua, which occupies the western half of New Guinea island, was under Dutch colonial rule until 1963, when Indonesia took over. Jakarta formalised its rule in 1969 in a vote by community leaders which was widely criticised as flawed.