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Thousands of Papuans protest racism, violence against them
“We will not accept our children being called ‘monkeys’,” Henny Mambrasar, a 56-year-old mother, told a crowd of protesters, “We refuse to be cursed at like we are some kind of animals.”
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Protesters take to the streets to face off with police in Manokwari, Papua on Aug. 19. Riots broke out in Papua with the local legislative building torched as thousands protested allegations that police tear-gassed and arrested students who supported the restive region's independence. (AFP/Str)
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rotests over racial abuse against Papuan students spread across several cities in Indonesia’s easternmost provinces of Papua and West Papua on Monday, with the largest mobs reportedly seen in Jayapura.
More than 10,000 people in the city took to the streets to protest the incident as they participated in a march to the Papua governor’s office and the West Papua Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) building.
The protesters were seen marching along Jl. Irian and Jl. Sam Ratulangi in the city, with some of them making a speech on the streets.
“We will not accept our children being called ‘monkeys’,” Henny Mambrasar, a 56-year-old mother, told a crowd of protesters, “We refuse to be cursed at like we are some kind of animals.”
"If you cannot come up with any solution to this, let us determine our own fate," said one of the protesters, Alexander Gobay, a student at the Science and Technology University in Jayapura, Papua.
The rally came in response to an incident where Papuan students living in a dormitory in Surabaya, East Java, were subjected to physical and verbal attacks by security personnel and members of mass organizations on Sunday.
They accused the Papuans of refusing to celebrate Indonesia’s 74th Independence Day over the weekend and stormed the dormitory after they found a discarded Indonesian flag near the building.
