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Papuans, non-Papuans urged to 'start over' after Wamena riot
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Students of Wamena 1 State High School in Jayawijaya, Papua, engage in trauma-healing activities on the first day of school after the school was closed for two weeks after riots broke out on Sept. 23. (JP/Syofiardi Bachyul Jb)
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ocal figures and state officials have called on the residents of Wamena in Jayawijaya, Papua, to resume with their normal activities without fear for their safety as authorities have guaranteed security following deadly riots that caused tens of thousands to flee their homes.
Dominikus Sorabut, a customary council leader in the Pegunungan Tengah area in Jayawijaya, encouraged both native and non-native Papuan residents in the city to "start over" and asserted that there was no segregation between them.
He said native and non-native Papuans were actually brothers and sisters who "eat from the same plate, sit together to share their life stories and have built each other up for a long time” in the region.
The turmoil that occurred on Sept. 23 ─ when a mob reportedly comprising native Papuans set hundreds of buildings, houses and cars on fire and violently attacked residents ─ was thus sudden, unexpected but unstoppable, he said.
Dominikus, who apologized for the bloody incidents that occurred in the Baliem Valley, said that he and other native Papuans had tried to disperse the attacking mob and at the same time rescue innocent civilians from the chaos.
However, they could not save them all. "We were overwhelmed,” he said.
The violent unrest claimed the lives of at least 33 people, mostly non-native Papuans, and caused Rp 479.5 billion (US$33.8 million) in material damage.
