"Indonesia shoots at us … killing us … cutting us. Many Papuans have become victims." So says Mathias Wenda, rebel leader of the Free Papua Movement. Papua is the easternmost province of Indonesia, incorporated by force in 1963. Moderate factions of Papua's independence movement distance themselves from Wenda's guerilla tactics, but all share his desire for change and a breakaway from Indonesia. Inspiration partly comes from the recent ethnic independence struggles in Fiji and the Solomon Islands. "We're different to ordinary Indonesians - we have different hair and skin colour. We're Melanesians", says Chief Theys, commonly called the 'Big Leader' of the independence movement. Indonesia has granted some concessions since the fall of Suharto two years ago - the name change from Irian Jaya to Papua, the right to raise their flag and to sing the national anthem - but Papuans aren't pacified. With one of the world's richest gold and copper mines, Papua is tied to Indonesia by wealth. The mining company Freeport makes billions of dollars for its American shareholders and is Indonesia's biggest taxpayer. Powerful interests are at stake and President Wahid threatens to end the 'compromise' with the nationalists with violence. Could Papua become the next ethnic hotspot in the region?

Produced by ABC Australia