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on-student protesters should stop using the Cenderawasih University (Uncen) campus in Jayapura, Papua, as a place to hide if they are being pursued by local police during rallies, according to the head of a student board.

Chairman of Uncen’s Students Executive Board (BEM) Paul Numberi said the campus was not a place to shelter criminals, but was a place of learning for the younger generations of the nation.

“The campus is a place of learning, not a haven for criminals. We call upon non-students not to carry out provocation on campus, especially that which can harm the students and put them at a disadvantage,” Numberi told reporters in Jayapura.

He was speaking of the frequency of which the Uncen campus was blocked whenever there was a rally in Jayapura.

Numberi said thousands of Uncen students expressed regret whenever there was a rally — carried out by a handful of students on behalf of all students — because such actions disrupted learning and teaching on campus.

Separately, Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian said police continued to pursue the alleged criminals, despite the latter seeking refuge on campus.

“Whenever police enter the campus, it doesn’t mean they are intervening but they are processing criminals,” Tito said.

Tito added that the police did not have the authority to enter only two places in Indonesia — the House of Representatives and regional legislative offices during session and houses of worship during religious services — but when a session or worship was completed, they could enter for the sake of upholding the law.

“Entrance to these two places is exempt during a session or service. We are only looking for the suspects, not intervening but carrying out law enforcement,” he said.