Protest riots in Indonesia’s West
Papua province
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| Riots in Manokwari, the capital of Indonesia's West Papua province (AFP) |
People set fire to a local parliament building in West Papua
on 19 August, in protest against arrests and alleged racial abuse of Papuan
students by Indonesian police.
By Robin Gomes
Violence erupted in the West Papua province of Indonesia on
Monday, with people setting fire to the local parliament building, in protest
against the alleged racial abuse of students from neighbouring Papua province.
The backlash came in the wake of news that security forces
led by an angry mob reportedly launched physical and racial verbal attacks on
some Papuan students living in a dormitory in the East Java city of Surabaya on
Sunday, accusing them of refusing to celebrate Indonesia's Independence Day the
previous day.
The students were accused of throwing an Indonesian flag
into a sewer, which they denied.
In the West Papuan capital Manokwari, a mob set fire to the
West Papua Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) building and a number of other
buildings and blocked roads with burnt cars and tyres.
Police also reported that protesters destroyed parts of an
airport in Sorong, another city in West Papua province.
Residents of West Papua are ethnically similar to those in
the neighbouring province of Papua. The two provinces became part of
Indonesia controversially in the 1960s, despite the former Dutch colony
declaring independence in 1961.
Since then, a separatist movement has been simmering in
Papua, with people complaining of discrimination and rights abuses at the hands
of Indonesian authorities.
In recent years, some Papua students, including some who
study in other provinces, have become vocal in calling for self-determination
for the province.
The arrested students were released on Aug. 18, by which
time outrage in Papua had emboldened protesters to take to the streets.
Papua Governor Lukas Enembe condemned the Surabaya incident
saying, "Indonesia has been independent for 74 years, and intolerant,
racist and discriminatory actions should not be allowed in
this country." "Racial acts in Surabaya have
hurt us in Papua," he said in a statement. "Intolerant, racial and
discriminatory actions should not exist in today’s Indonesia.”
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is seeking to defuse the
tension, with his chief security minister, Wiranto, pledging a "complete
and fair" investigation into the East Java incidents.
Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said he would summon the
governors of Papua, West Papua and East Java to get to the bottom of the
matter.
Religious groups and rights activists condemned the weekend
arrests, saying it was a setback to efforts to end tensions in Papua.
Yuliana Langowuyo, deputy director of the Franciscan
Commission for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, said the students were
treated in a "very degrading way."
"Such racism and discrimination show the failure of the
state in protecting the rights of all citizens," she told UCANEWS.
Natalius Pigai, a Papuan activist and former member of the
National Human Rights Commission, called on police to punish those involved in
the student arrests. "The police must move immediately to try and diffuse
the situation,” he said.
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