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21 killed amid fresh unrest in Papua
Fired up: People react as a building burns after protests broke out in Wamena, Papua, on Monday
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ired up: People react as a building burns after protests broke out in Wamena, Papua, on Monday. Protesters burned down a government office and other buildings in Wamena, according to an AFP report.(AFP/Vina Rumbewas)
At least 21 people were reportedly killed in fresh clashes in Jayapura and Wamena, Papua, on Monday, prompting the government to block internet services in the two cities as it grapples to bring order to the region.
Unrest first broke out in the morning in the provincial capital of Jayapura, when police and military personnel besieged the Cendrawasih University auditorium. The hall had been serving as a temporary shelter for some 300 students who had fled cities outside Papua after racial abuse suffered by Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, and elsewhere last month.
Security personnel reportedly ordered the students to leave the auditorium in an orderly manner but the latter did not respond. After three hours of waiting, they charged in and forced the students into buses that would transfer them to the Waena Museum and Arts Center.
But according to witnesses, security personnel opened fire on the students once they arrived.
"We were brutally attacked the minute we arrived at the museum," one of the students, Kales Bagau, told The Jakarta Post on Monday, adding that at least two students had died on the spot, while some security personnel had been injured.
Papua Health Agency head Aloysius Giay confirmed that four people had died in the incident.
"One [was] from the Indonesian Military [TNI] and the three others were Papuan students," he said.
Aloysius added that 10 students were receiving intensive care at the Bhayangkara Hospital and Marten Indey Hospital.
Meanwhile, Cendrawasih Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. Eko Daryanto said the dead serviceman had been identified as Chief Pvt. Zulkifli, who had driven troops to the museum.
"The angry mob struck back and hit the soldier using bladed weapons. He suffered severe injuries to the back of his head," Eko said, adding that Zulkifli had died at around 1:30 p.m. local time.
Violent unrest also broke out on Monday in Wamena, Jayawijaya regency, where students staged a rally in front of the regent's office.
At least 17 people were killed during the incident, according to Military District Command (Dandim) 1702/Wamena commander Lt. Col. Chandra Diyanto.
The victims died after either being stabbed with sharp weapons or set on fire, Chandra said as quoted by Antara news agency.
At least 65 people were reportedly injured and were receiving intensive treatment, he added.
"The situation is relatively under control right now, but some of our personnel are still on guard," Chandra said.
Police reportedly fired tear gas at protesters to disperse them. Some are believed to have been injured, with a photograph obtained by the Post on Monday morning showing a female high school student bleeding from her right arm.
Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Rudolf A. Rodja said separately that the protest stemmed from a “baseless allegation”.
A teacher had allegedly called a student a “monkey” last week, triggering protests across the city.
The Post has not been able to verify whether the incident took place.
The unrest forced Wamena Airport to halt operations for an unspecified time. Located in Baliem valley, the airport typically serves 120 flights a day.
"Wamena is the gateway to many cities and villages in [the isolated] Pegunungan Tengah region," said the airport's head of operations, Joko Harjani, as reported by Antara.
The protests in Wamena follow racially motivated attacks on Papuan students in Surabaya last month, which triggered massive protests across the provinces of Papua and West Papua.
Many Papuans, who claim they are being discriminated against by both the authorities and other Indonesians, have called for a referendum on self-determination.
Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko said he believed the protesters were “consumed” by incitements "in order to create chaos to be presented at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly [in New York, the United States]".
He further stated that the government was being lured to commit serious human rights violations so as to bring this up in the assembly.
"All [security personnel] have already been ordered to refrain [from creating an undesirable situation], because the unrest is closely related to the UN General Assembly," claimed Moeldoko.
Papuan separatist figures, including the chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Benny Wenda, have raised the issue of human rights violations in Papua at global forums in hopes of getting support for a referendum.
Authorities have shut down internet access in Wamena and Jayapura since Monday.
Speaking in Jakarta on Monday afternoon, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said the violence in Wamena was triggered by a "hoax" and called on the public to verify information coming from social media.
"We need to check the information first, don't believe it directly because it may disrupt security and stability in any region," he said, adding that people should also refrain from vandalizing public facilities.
