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View all search resultsFears of communal clashes as rival groups face off in Papua
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Thousands rally in Jayapura, Papua, on Aug. 19 to express their anger over racial abuse. (Antara/Gusti Tanati)
T
ensions rose in Jayapura, the provincial capital of Papua, on Friday, as residents, many of whom are believed to be non-indigenous Papuans, took action against Papuan protesters who, the former claimed, had rioted during anti-Jakarta rallies in the city.
Security sources confirmed that some residents had blocked roads and conducted sweeps against suspected protesters, with Papua Cendrawasih Military Command saying that it had prepared measures to anticipate any possible clashes between the groups.
Jayapura Science and Technology University student Soleman Itlay, one of the protesters, told The Jakarta Post that a group of mostly non-indigenous residents had besieged Papuan protesters who had been occupying the Papua governor’s office since Thursday.
The besiegers, who reportedly call themselves Masyarakat Nusantara (Archipelago Community), surrounded the building at 10:30 a.m. local time on Friday, he said.
“The [indigenous Papuan] protesters are trapped inside the Papua governor’s office,” Soleman told the Post via text message.
According to reports from eyewitnesses, the non-indigenous protestors surrounded the governor’s office and stood by at shop houses located 300 meters away from the building.
Lucky Ireeuw, a Papuan journalist and head of the Jayapura branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) said that some non-indigenous residents had blocked the main roads connecting Abepura and Entrop districts with Jayapura from Thursday evening to Friday morning.
