Indonesia has cut off internet access in eastern Papua to prevent provocative posts online from fueling violence, after protesters torched buildings, a market and a prison over mistreatment of students and perceived ethnic discrimination.

Police have flown in 1,200 additional officers to Papua to quell sometimes violent protests since Monday in several towns, including Timika - which stands near the giant Grasberg copper mine operated by Freeport McMoran's Indonesian unit - as well as Manokwari, Sorong and Fakfak.

Smaller demonstrations and rallies in favor of Papua flared up throughout Indonesia on Thursday, while Indonesia's chief security minister, police chief and military commander visited Sorong on Thursday to inspect where the most violent protests had occurred.

Two new rallies, described as peaceful by officials, unfolded in the Nabire and Yahukimo parts of Papua, according to Indonesian news site Kompas.

A separate and more tense protest erupted on Thursday in Jakarta where more than 100 Papuan students demonstrated in the heart of the Indonesian capital.

As they marched from the Indonesian army headquarters to the gates of the presidential palace, demonstrators shouted pro-independence slogans demanding "referendum for Papua" or "freedom for Papua."

Some people held posters demanding the right to self-determination and "to end racism and colonialism in West Papua."

Another smaller Papuan student protest also started on Thursday in the nearby city of Bogor.

While a separatist movement has simmered for decades in Papua, with frequent complaints of rights abuses leveled against Indonesian security forces, the recent anger appears to be linked to racist slurs against Papuan students who were detained last week.

The students were arrested from their dormitory in the city of Surabaya in East Java after being accused of disrespecting the Indonesian flag during a celebration of Indonesia's Independence Day.