2) Victims and material losses after clash in Wamena still counting
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Key points:
- The riot began after locals threw rocks at a local police station, where a man accused of abducting a child was being detained
- Security forces responded by opening fire, killing nine people and injuring 14
- Other buildings in the area were set ablaze, which resulted in more than 200 security personnel being deployed to contain the situation
More than 200 security personnel, including police and the military, were deployed to contain the situation after 14 people were hurt in Thursday's riot, police said.
The situation remained tense, but there had been no further violence, Papua province police spokesperson Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo said by telephone.
The riot started after locals, angered by rumours about a child kidnapping, started throwing rocks at Wamena police station where a man accused of abducting a six-year-old was detained, he said.
Police summoned the child's parents to clarify that she was safe, but that failed to stem the violence and other buildings were set ablaze in the area, he added.
Security forces responded by opening fire, killing nine people and injuring 14, Mr Prabowo said.
Tensions have been running high in Papua, which is one of the poorest, most underdeveloped parts of the country, since separatist rebels abducted a New Zealand pilot.
Separatists have waged a low-level fight for independence since the resource-rich region, once governed by the Netherlands, was brought under Indonesian control following a controversial United Nations backed referendum in 1969.
Reuters
https://en.jubi.id/victims-and-material-losses-after-clash-in-wamena-still-counting/
2) Victims and material losses after clash in Wamena still counting
News Desk - Clash In Wamena
24 February 2023
Jayapura, Jubi – A clash occurred between residents and security forces in Sinakma, Wamena District, Jayawijaya Regency, Mountainous Papua Province on Thursday, February 23, 2023, triggered by child abduction.
Jayawijaya Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hesman Napitupulu said the number of houses, kiosks and other buildings that were burned during the clash was still uncertain as data collection was still being carried out.
“The number of victims is still not known as well. Rescue efforts are still being carried out by bringing victims to the hospital,” said Napitupulu.
He explained that the problem in Sinakma began when the people of Sapalek Village saw people carrying a child in a car and suspected them of kidnapping.
This was spread to the wider community, which angered the residents. Police came and asked them to resolve the problem at the police station but the community refused.
When the police were about to return, the residents immediately attacked the police, leading to the burning of other residents’ houses.
“We will take the next step to meet with the village leaders to prevent a similar situation occurring in the future. I ask the residents not to be provoked by things that turn the situation into chaos,” said the police chief.
Meanwhile, Jayawijaya Deputy Regent Marthin Yogobi emphasized that the problem did not entirely occur in his area. “The location of the clash is only in Sinakma, not Jayawijaya Regency as a whole,” Yogobi said.
“The military and police are working hand in hand to resolve the situation and consolidate all data of victims. Therefore, we hope that the community will not be provoked by rumors. In general, Jayawijaya Regency is safe and under control,” he said. (*)
TORTURE, extra judicial killings, and abductions are being carried out with impunity in the provinces of West Papua, human-rights activists have reported, as conflict continues between those fighting for independence and the Indonesian security forces.
The 2022 Human Rights Monitor report said that amendments by Jakarta to the Papuan special autonomy law without consultation, and plans to create new provinces, added to a history of political disappointments and human-rights violations for residents of West Papua. Protesters staged demonstrations to protest at the arbitrary changes, but the report said that violations of human rights recorded increased as a result of the protest.
Researchers identified hundreds of violations. On 1 December, which many Papuans consider their independence day, there were more than 100 arbitrary arrests, the report said.
The conflict reached “a new level of escalation throughout 2022”, the report said. “More and more, the people in West Papua feel powerless to exercise their right to determine their future.”
The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and the United Liberation Movement for West Papua held a series of meetings with the West Papuan Council of Churches to seek a way forward. Although a ceasefire was agreed, it has not been implemented. Conflict has now spread to new areas, and more civilians have been attacked. The TPNPB has urged non-Papuans to leave conflict areas, as their cannot be guaranteed.
A New Zealand pilot, Philip Mehrtens, taken hostage last week, has appeared in video footage sent to the BBC by TPNPB fighters. He appeared in the video with armed fighters to read out a prepared statement, repeating the rebels’ demands for independence. The group said that Mr Mehrtens was being held because New Zealand co-operated militarily with Indonesia.
About 60,000 people — many of whom are not receiving any government support — are now living in shelters as a result of the conflict. Others are living in remote areas of forest without access to food or health care. Church workers told researchers that the number of people displaced from the Maybrat Regency area, where there have been recent clashes, is nearly 2000, and that those living in shelters were not safe, as snipers were constantly firing around them.
Human Rights Monitor is an EU-based international group that seeks to promote human rights through documentation and advocacy. The group works in collaboration with the World Council of Churches (WCC) on situations of conflict and human-rights violations in West Papua.
The WCC said that it was concerned for the indigenous West Papuan population, owing to the “persistent and quite serious human-rights and humanitarian situation in the region, which the Indonesian government has, frankly, failed to address and correct”.
The WCC’s director of international affairs, Peter Prove, said that there was a lack of trust in Indonesian rule, which dated back to the disputed Act of Free Choice, when West Papua was integrated into Indonesia in 1969.
He said: “What we have seen over decades is a very high level of human-rights violations,” which had increased during Covid.
