Monday, September 23, 2019

1) Fresh unrest erupts in Papua, high school students reportedly injured


2) Papua People's Assembly Says Wamena's Riot was Provoked
3) Protesters burn buildings in Indonesia's Papua province
4) Papua governor urges to end destabilizing activities
5)  Papua Unrest, Wamena Airport Temporarily Halts Operations
6) Police launch manhunt for hoax suspect
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1) Fresh unrest erupts in Papua, high school students reportedly injured
Benny Mawel The Jakarta Post
Jayapura   /   Mon, September 23, 2019   /   03:46 pm


Smoke rises from Wamena, Papua, where violent unrest involving senior high school students erupted on Monday, Sept. 23. (tribunnews.com/ Banjir Ambarita)

Violent unrest broke out in Wamena, the main city of Jayawijaya regency in Papua, on Monday, with some senior high school students reportedly being attacked by security officers as they dispersed a protest.
Local Veronika Uaga said the chaos occurred after hundreds of senior high school students in the city "behaved violently" and set some facilities, including the Jayawijaya regent's office, on fire.
The police then reportedly fired tear gas at the protesters to disperse them. Some are believed to have been injured, with a photograph obtained by The Jakarta Post on Monday morning showing a female senior high school student bleeding from her right arm.
"Students were running around the streets to avoid getting shot," Veronika said, adding that she fled to a nearby church to stay away from the unrest. Some other residents reportedly took shelter at the police headquarters.
Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Rudolf A. Rodja said separately that the protest occurred due to a “baseless” provocation spread among the students. A teacher allegedly called a student a “monkey” last week, triggering the protest across the city.
"We have asked the teacher and she denied having made the racist slur," Rudolf said as quoted by kompas.com. He called on all students to be cautious about unconfirmed information.
The unrest has forced Wamena airport to halt its operations until an unspecified time. The airport located in Baliem Valley typically sees 120 flights a day. "Wamena is the door to many cities and villages in [the isolated] Pegunungan Tengah area," said the airport's head of operations, Joko Harjani, as reported by Antara.
The protests in Wamena follow the use of racist slurs and an attack against Papuan students in August in Surabaya, East Java, which triggered massive protests across Papua and West Papua provinces. Many Papuans, who claim they are discriminated against by the majority of other Indonesian citizens, have demanded a referendum on independence. (vny)
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2) Papua People's Assembly Says Wamena's Riot was Provoked

Translator: 
 
Editor: 

Petir Garda Bhwana


TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Papua People's Assembly confirmed that a riot broke in Wamena, Papua on Monday morning, 23 September 2019. Speaker Timotius Murib said the riot broke because there were people who provoked demonstrators who were staging protests.
In a text message to Tempo, Timotius said the demonstrators were students and civilians who are protesting against racism as an aftermath of the racist acts against Papuan university students in Surabaya and Malang, East Java in August.
Timotius said, the demonstration in Wamena was then infiltrated by provocateurs.
"There are provocateurs inciting riots and anarchy," he said.
Antara reported that the Sentani Airport Authority on Monday morning had decided to temporarily stop flights to Wamena after an anarchist demonstration happened.
According to Timotius, similar demonstrations also took place at Cenderawasih University in Jayapura. Students, he said, had occupied the campus, but the situation has calmed down after the police stepped in.
TEMPO

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3) Protesters burn buildings in Indonesia's Papua province
PUBLISHED
2 HOURS AGO


JAKARTA (AP) - Hundreds of protesters in Indonesia's restive Papua province set fire to homes and other buildings on Monday (Sept 23) in a protest sparked by rumours that a high school teacher had insulted students, police said.
The angry mob torched local government buildings, shops and homes, and set fire to cars and motorbikes on several roads leading to the district chief's office in Wamena city, said Papua police chief Rudolf Alberth Rodja.
Television footage showed orange flames and black smoke billowing from burning buildings.
Mr Rodja said the protest was triggered by allegations that a high school teacher in Wamena, who is not from Papua, had called an indigenous Papuan student "monkey" last week.
He said that a police investigation did not find any racism against the student, and that false rumours have been spreading among students in other schools and native communities.
"We believe this false information was intentionally designed to create riots," Mr Rodja told reporters in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province. "This is a hoax and I call on people in Papua not to be provoked by untrue news."
Monday's protest came days after Indonesian authorities managed to get the province under control after weeks of violent protests against alleged racism in the region by thousands of people in Papua and West Papua provinces.
At least one Indonesian soldier and four civilians were killed in the violence.

The previous protests were triggered by videos circulated on the Internet showing security forces calling Papuan university students "monkeys" and "dogs" in East Java's Surabaya city when they stormed a dormitory where Papuan students were staying after a torn Indonesian flag was found in a sewer.
Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common in the impoverished Papua region, a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia.
Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a UN-sponsored ballot that was seen as a sham by many. Since then, a low-level insurgency has simmered in the mineral-rich region, which is divided into two provinces, Papua and West Papua.
In recent years, some Papua students, including some who study in other provinces, have become vocal in calling for self-determination for their region.
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4) Papua governor urges to end destabilizing activities
1 hour ago
Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - Papua Governor Lukas Enembe has stressed on immediately stopping activities that disrupt security and stability in the easternmost Indonesian province.

"Stop all activities that trigger crimes. If (you) want to return to study, the region must be safe," Enembe emphasized in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, on Monday, while referring to students camping near the Cendrawasih University campus.

Enembe admitted to the security disturbance in Jayawijaya District and Jayapura city that resulted in the clash.

Related news: Tony Harsono steers investigation into civilian deaths in gun battle

"An exodus of students from different cities camped near the Cendrawasih University (Uncen) campus after which the police disbursed them. However, on returning home, they clashed with military/police personnel near the venue of Waena Expo," he stated.

Quoting on field information, he confirmed that the clash resulted in the death of a military man and injuries to four others. Civilians too were injured in the clash, though he could not as yet ascertain the exact count.

"Stop all activities that may lead to crimes and disrupt public order," he noted.

Related news: RI rebuts Vanuatu politicizing Papua issue at Human Rights Council

The government had readied means of transportation for the students to return to the cities where they study. They must not disrupt security, peace, and order by using any form of jargon, he stated.

"Of course, security personnel will take firm measures if you disturb government activities, including being involved in arson and blocking state roads," he noted.

In related developments, the police is launching a manhunt to find the person, who supposedly disseminated hoax that fueled a violent demonstration in Wamena, Jayawijaya District, Papua Province, on Monday.

Related news: Indonesian troops will remain in Papua: Defense Minister

"We will find (the person)," Chief of the Papua Provincial Police Inspector General Rudolf A. Rodja stated in Abepura, Jayapura, on Monday.

The hoax had led to a violent demonstration in Wamena, with some rioters going on a rampage and setting ablaze several facilities.

Related news: Papua an inseparable part of Indonesia: Defense Minister
Reporter: Hendrina Dian Kandipi, Suharto
Editor: Azizah Fitriyanti
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5)  Papua Unrest, Wamena Airport Temporarily Halts Operations
Translator: 
 
Editor: 

Petir Garda Bhwana

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The operations at Wamena Airport in Papua is temporarily halted due to the reportedly violent protests that broke at the District of Jayawijaya, Papua.
Head of the Wamena Airport, Joko Harjani says airport management is yet to announce how long the temporary closure of its operations would last which was effective since 10:30 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) after three cargo planes left the airport.
“There are no more planes in the airport as of now,” said Joko on Monday, September 23, who maintained that it will only be reopened under formal police or military requests.
The Wamena airport is located at the Baliem valley that serves 120 daily flights. The airport’s high activity is due to its role as the entrance gate toward a number of cities and villages in the Central Mountain’s Region.  
Previously reported, the police closed the Abepura-Padang Bulan Road in Abepura district of Jayapura, Papua, Monday morning September 23. The street is blocked following a student protests by at the Cenderawasih University campus in Abepura.
ANTARA
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6) Police launch manhunt for hoax suspect
2 hours ago

Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - The police is launching an organized and intensive search for a person suspected of spreading hoax that fueled a violent demonstration in Wamena, Jayawijaya District, Papua Province, on Monday.

"We will find (the person)," Chief of the Papua Provincial Police Inspector General Rudolf A. Rodja stated in Abepura, Jayapura, on Monday.

The hoax had spurred a violent demonstration in Wamena, with some rioters torching several facilities.

The person spreading the hoax should be held accountable for the incident.

"I have only received information about several motorcycles burnt in Wamena during the solidarity demonstration," he stated.

Responding to a query on an allegation of demonstrators vandalizing public facilities and the Wamena Airport, the West Papua Provincial Police former chief confirmed to have yet to obtain a report on the vandalism.

"I have not received (the report) yet,” he confirmed.

The demonstrations were conducted in several areas in Wamena on Monday.

A report received by Antara in Jayapura found that the demonstrators, mostly constituting youngsters, had set fire to several public facilities, such as office complexes.

Related news: Provocation to cause anarchy continues in Papua: Wiranto
Related news: Two named in racist speech case against Papuans
Related news: President orders crackdown on rioting, anarchy in Papua
Reporter: Alfian Rumagit/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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