"At least 3,000 people mobilized by the Papuan Christian Communication Forum staged a rally in Jayapura" on August 4, a Jakarta Post article reported the following day.
The protest questioned "the functioning of the special autonomy law" introduce by the Indonesian government.
Protesters "claimed the law had been in force for seven years, but that most indigenous Papuan people had not seen any improvement in their welfare".
The Post reported that protesters came from 45 churches and carried banners declaring: "Special Autonomy Law — Blessing or Disaster?" and "Special Autonomy for whom?".
"How can we assess the achievements of the special autonomy law, if the regulations are not in force?", rally organiser Salmon Yumane asked. "It seems as if the local administration and council have forgotten to make the regulations, thereby leaving local Papuan people living in poverty", he said, according to the Post.
"For seven years, local people who mostly live in poverty have heard about trillions of rupiah (to be distributed to them), but many Papuans still die due to poor sanitation", stated Reverand Richard Paay, a speaker at the demonstration. "Where does the money go?"
"People have been forced to face hardships like joining long lines for kerosene, due to shortages, while prices of basic commodities continue rising, although most Papuans do not have their own incomes."
Paay stated that church authorities were willing to assist the local administration to make the autonomy law effective.
According to the July 29 Cenderawasih Post, a demonstration in Abepura, whose purpose was "to call for dialogue in view of the fact that after seven years, special autonomy has failed", as well as raise "violations of human rights that have occurred since special autonomy was introduced", was forcibly disbanded by police.
Organised by the Coalition of Students and the Community Concerned about the Land of Papua, the aim had been to hold a peaceful demonstration outside the Papuan People's Assembly.
Meanwhile six Papuans, out of 46 arrested, will be charged with "subversion" by Indonesian authorities for their role in the raising of the Morning Star flag on July 19. The flag is a symbol of West Papuan independence and is banned by Indonesian authorities.
The July 20 Jakarta Post reported that 41 of those arrested were former political prisoners. Human rights workers allege police had kicked and tortured participants in the flag raising, before stripping them to their underwear and taking them into custody.
An August 7 statement by the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) reported that 40 members of the US Congress had signed a letter to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono urging him to work for the "immediate and unconditional" release of West Papuan political prisoners Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage.
The two have been imprisoned for more than three-and-a-half years "merely for exercising their right to political expression", ETAN advocacy coordinator Tom Ricker stated. Karma and Pakage were sentenced to 10 and 15 years respectively for raising the Morning Star flag in 2004.