Indonesia has deployed 1,200 additional troops to West Papua and cut off internet access as thousands of protesters in the Indonesian territory have stepped up their demands for independence. The latest protests came after a group of ethnic Papuan students in East Java were accused of desecrating an Indonesian flag and taunted by nationalists as “monkeys,” “pigs” and “dogs.” They were then tear-gassed in their dormitories by security forces. The incident sparked protests in at least six areas of West Papua, with pro-independence groups setting fires to government buildings, including a prison where some 250 prisoners escaped.