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Over 100 detained across Papua for allegedly raising Morning Star flag
Among the first to be arrested was youth activist Pilipus Robaha, who was apprehended at his residence on Nov. 26 for having allegedly published a letter on social media urging the public to join the commemoration of Dec. 1, which some Papuans claim to be the birth of the West Papua nation in 1961, in Trikora Square in Abepura district, Jayapura. However, Pilipus was released the following day because of a lack of evidence.
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Papuan students, members of the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP), stage a rally to commemorate Dec. 1, the day pro-independence activists declare as Papuan independence day, on Sunday in Yogyakarta. They demanded the government hold a referendum on Papuan self-determination and end human rights violations in Papua and West Papua. (JP/Bambang Muryanto)
T
he police have preempted what they claim to have been coordinated subversive activities in Papua, arresting some 100 people including students and activists across Papua and West Papua provinces and naming some of them as treason suspects given that they allegedly planned to raise the Bintang Kejora (Morning Star) flag, a symbol of the Papuan independence movement, ahead of a Dec. 1 commemoration.
Among the first to be arrested was youth activist Pilipus Robaha, who was apprehended at his residence on Nov. 26 for having allegedly published a letter on social media urging the public to join the commemoration of Dec. 1, which some Papuans claim to be the birth of the West Papua nation in 1961, in Trikora Square in Abepura district, Jayapura. However, Pilipus was released the following day because of a lack of evidence.
The day after Pilipus’ arrest, the police took eight people in Manokwari into custody at 3 a.m. local time. West Papua Police chief Brig. Gen. Herry Rudolf Nahak said the police had confiscated 29 Morning Star flags, two cars and an unspecified number of posters and pamphlets from the eight arrested individuals.
“These eight people said they joined [the rally] because they had previously received an invitation to the rally on Borasi Square, Manokwari, on Wednesday morning,” Herry said.
As of Wednesday, the eight individuals were still being detained by the Manokwari Police. Seven of them have been named treason suspects, while one person has been named as a witness.
The police have also named 11 people treason suspects in Sorong, West Papua. Herry said the arrests were related to a Morning Star flag-raising in Malanu district in Sorong municipality on Dec. 1.
The series of arrests continued, with 34 people taken into police custody in the evening of Nov. 30. The police said they were arrested as they were purportedly on their way to hoist a Morning Star flag in Trikora Square. The police also accused them of being members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) after confiscating TPNPB identification cards from them.
