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Racial abuse sparks riots in Papua

Boiling over: Protesters take to the streets to face off with police in Manokwari, West Papua, on Monday

Benny Mawel, Marchio Irfan Gorbiano and Karina M. Tehusijarana (The Jakarta Post)
Jayapura/Jakarta
Tue, August 20, 2019

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Racial abuse sparks riots in Papua

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oiling over: Protesters take to the streets to face off with police in Manokwari, West Papua, on Monday. Riots broke out in Papua and West Papua. The West Papua Regional Legislative Council building was torched as thousands protested allegations that police tear-gassed and arrested students who supported calls for the restive region’s independence.(STR /AFP)

A wave of protests over racial abuse against Papuan students swept across several cities in Indonesia’s easternmost provinces of Papua and West Papua on Monday, with the largest crowds gathering in Jayapura.

More than 10,000 people in the city took to the streets over the incident as they marched to the Papua gubernatorial office and the West Papua Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) building.

“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.”

The protests flared up after Papuan university 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.

Security personnel reportedly banged on the dormitory’s door while shouting curse words, such as “monkeys”, “pigs” and “dogs”. The mob later threw stones at the dorm while shouting “kick out the Papuans!” and “slaughter the Papuans!” for hours.

“We want the President to hold accountable those who committed [racial] abuse against the [Papuans],” Henny said.

While the protests in Jayapura were largely peaceful, violence broke out in Manokwari, West Papua, on Monday morning.

Manokwari was the first city to erupt in protest, with locals blocking a number of major streets, cutting down trees to be used as barricades, and setting the DPRD West Papua building on fire.

Three police officers were reportedly injured by stones thrown by the protesters.

On the other side of the province, in Sorong, protesters also took to the streets and set alight tires as well as the regency’s DPRD building.

Gilbert Kempa, a 25-year-old tour guide and Sorong resident, said the protesters had been stirred up by WhatsApp messages and videos showing the racial abuse in East Java, as well as rumors that the Papuan students would be forcibly sent back to Papua.

“The roads are blocked and shops and banks have closed early,” Gilbert told The Jakarta Post on Monday afternoon, adding that local police had put the city on the highest security alert status, known as “Siaga 1”.

Other areas of Papua were also on high alert. In Nabire regency, Kuncahyo, a 55-year-old Javanese native who has lived in the province for 35 years, said residents were on edge, but there were no reports of violence in the regency.

“In the afternoon we held a carnival celebrating Independence Day and everything seemed fine, but afterward, many residents ran home and shops closed because of rumors of rioting,” the elementary school principal told the Post. “But police told me that nothing had happened.”

Papuans in other provinces have also protested against the abuse. In Medan, North Sumatra, the local Papuan Students’ Association (IMP) held a demonstration in front of the province’s DPRD building.

Meanwhile, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parwansa has called Papua Governor Lukas Enembe to apologize for the incident at the Surabaya dormitory.

“I want to apologize [for the racial abuse] on behalf of the people of East Java,” she told reporters in Surabaya. “[The incident] is not at all representative of the people of Surabaya.”

Both Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini and Malang Mayor Sutiaji were also quick to dispel rumors that Papuan students would be forced to leave the cities.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who has visited Papua more times than any previous president, called on the public to remain calm and “forgive each other”.

“Fellow citizens, pace [brothers], mace [sisters] and mama-mama [mothers] in Papua and West Papua. I know that there are some grievances. As fellow citizens, it is important to forgive each other,” said Jokowi at Merdeka Palace on Monday, addressing the Papuans in the local form of speech. “It is better to forgive and be patient.”

Jokowi further said the government would continue to maintain the “dignity and prosperity of pace, mace and mama-mama” in Papua and West Papua.

The President refused to comment, however, on calls to investigate the racial abuse that sparked the protest.

Earlier on Monday, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said he “regretted the abuse of the Indonesian flag” that lead to “negative comments” triggering the protests. He also called on residents not to be provoked by “fake news and hoaxes” about the incidents.

The Communications and Information Ministry has since confirmed that it had slowed down internet access in Jayapura, Manokwari and other areas in Papua.

“The aim of throttling [the internet] is to prevent the spread of hoaxes that trigger protests,” ministry spokesperson Ferdinandus Setu said in a statement.

Police said the unrest had died down by Monday evening, with most protesters returning home after meeting with police and political leaders.

“The situation is now conducive; the crowds have communicated their aspirations and have returned to their homes under police protection,” National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said on Monday evening.

Indonesia has expressed its objections to Pacific countries’ concerns over alleged human rights abuse in Papua at a recent annual Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu.

The summit, held in the island nation’s capital Funafuti from Tuesday to Friday, was attended by Pacific nation leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. (bry)

 

Kharishar Kahfi and Dian Septiari in Jakarta, Apriadi Gunawan in Medan and Aman Rochman in Malang
contributed to this story.

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