2) Fresh unrest in Indonesia's Papua
3) Protesters burn buildings in Indonesia's Papua
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SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 / 2:25 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
1) Buildings set ablaze amid fresh unrest in Indonesia's Papua - media
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian security forces were battling on Monday to restore order in a town in the easternmost province of Papua, a police spokesman said, following media reports of buildings set ablaze and gunfire amid fresh demonstrations by protesters.
Sometimes violent protests convulsed the region for two weeks in late August over racial slurs against Papuan students in Java’s city of Surabaya, who were teargassed in a dormitory and detained over accusations of desecrating a national flag.
There was “chaos” in Wamena, the biggest town in the highland area of Papua, state news agency Antara quoted district police chief Toni Ananda as saying. The agency cited another official as saying the town’s airport had been shut.
One of Indonesia’s biggest news portals, Kompas.com, said demonstrators had set fire to homes and government buildings during a rally allegedly triggered by racist slurs directed at students by a teacher in Wamena.
Gunshots were heard during a telephone call with its correspondent in the town, the website added.
National police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told Reuters the situation “is being handled by police and the military so that this does not spread wider,” and he was awaiting reports from regional officers.
Resource-rich Papua - which is home to the world’s biggest gold mine and its second-biggest copper mine Grasberg - was a Dutch colony that was incorporated into Indonesia after a controversial U.N. backed referendum in 1969.
Since then, the region has endured decades of mostly low-level separatist conflict.
After the August protests began, Indonesia has sent almost 6,000 additional military and police personnel to the region, and authorities for a time blocked internet access to prevent use of social media.
Police have rounded up dozens of people for damaging public property in the protests, with several named as treason suspects over a demand for an independence referendum that authorities have ruled out.
Reporting by Jakarta bureau; Editing by Ed Davies and Clarence Fernandez
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2) Fresh unrest in Indonesia's Papua
Government buildings have been set on fire and gunfire reported in a town in Indonesia's easternmost province amid renewed protests by Papuans.
Indonesian security forces have battled to restore order in a town in the easternmost province of Papua, a police spokesman says, following media reports of buildings set ablaze and gunfire amid fresh protests.
Sometimes violent protests convulsed the region for two weeks in late August over racial slurs against Papuan students in Java's city of Surabaya, who were tear gassed in a dormitory and detained over accusations of desecrating a national flag.
There was "chaos" in Wamena, the biggest town in the highland area of Papua, state news agency Antara quoted district police chief Toni Ananda as saying. The agency cited another official as saying the town's airport had been shut.
One of Indonesia's biggest news portals, Kompas.com, said demonstrators had set fire to homes and government buildings during a rally allegedly triggered by racist slurs directed at students by a teacher in Wamena.
Gunshots were heard during a telephone call with its correspondent in the town, the website added.
National police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told Reuters the situation "is being handled by police and the military so that this does not spread wider," and he was awaiting reports from regional officers.
Resource-rich Papua - which is home to the world's biggest gold mine and its second-biggest copper mine Grasberg - was a Dutch colony that was incorporated into Indonesia after a controversial UN backed referendum in 1969.
Since then, the region has endured decades of mostly low-level separatist conflict.
After the August protests began, Indonesia has sent almost 6000 additional military and police personnel to the region and has blocked internet access to prevent use of social media.
Police have rounded up dozens of people for damaging public property in the protests, with several named as treason suspects over a demand for an independence referendum that authorities have ruled out
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3) Protesters burn buildings in Indonesia's Papua
Published 11:02 pm PDT, Sunday, September 22, 2019
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Hundreds of protesters in Indonesia's restive Papua province have set fire to homes and other buildings.
Papua police chief Rudolf Alberth Rodja says Monday's demonstration was sparked by rumors that a high school teacher in Papua's Wamena city called students "monkeys."
He says the angry mob set fire to local government buildings, shops, homes and motorbikes.
Television footage showed black smoke billowing from the burning buildings.
Rodja says a police investigation did not find any racist comments made about the students.
Monday's protest came days after Indonesian authorities managed to get the province under control after weeks of violent protests against racism in the region, where an insurgency has simmered for decades.
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