Jakarta took control of Papua, a former Dutch colony, in the 1960s after an independence referendum widely viewed as a sham |
Indonesia's Papua plunged into chaos again Thursday as angry protesters torched buildings in its capital after nearly two weeks of riots and demonstrations in the easternmost province of the archipelago.
More than a
thousand demonstrators marched around Jayapura hurling stones and setting fire
to shops and an assembly building following a deadly clash in another part of
the jungle-clad province, which shares the island with independent Papua New
Guinea.
Carrying
placards bearing the image of a banned flag, many called for independence from
Indonesian rule and an end to racism against the minority group.
Papuans are
ethnic Melanesians and have few cultural ties with the rest of Indonesia.
State power
company PLN said the violence forced it to cut electricity in parts of
Jayapura, a city of about 300,000 people.
"Several
public facilities and buildings were damaged by the rioters," said
National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo.
"Security
forces are still trying to control the situation," he added.
The protest
comes a day after violence flared in remote Deiyai, where a clash between
protesters and Indonesian security forces left at least one soldier and two
demonstrators dead, according to officials.
The confrontation sparked reports that Indonesia's military -- long accused of committing rights abuses against Papuans during a decades-old separatist insurgency -- had gunned down six protesters.
Hundreds of
demonstrators marched through Papua's biggest city,
Jayapura, setting fire to a
regional assembly building
|
The confrontation sparked reports that Indonesia's military -- long accused of committing rights abuses against Papuans during a decades-old separatist insurgency -- had gunned down six protesters.
Authorities
denied that claim and said they were attacked by hundreds of Papuans armed with
machetes and traditional bows-and-arrows.
Some 300
extra personnel had been sent to Deiyai to restore order, officials said
Thursday, after Jakarta deployed more than 1,200 police and military members to
Papua last week.
'Smouldering anger'
The
accounts of what happened in Deiyai could not be independently verified.
Conflicting
reports are common in Papua, where independence supporters and the military
frequently blame each other for violence.
The
government in Jakarta also an ordered Internet blackout since last week, making
confirming and sharing information difficult.
Riots and
demonstrations have broken out in Papua since mid-August with buildings torched
and street battles between police and protesters.
The unrest
appears to have been triggered by the arrest this month of dozens of Papuan
students in Java, who were also racially abused.
Police in
riot gear stormed a dormitory in the city of Surabaya to force out students
accused of destroying an Indonesian flag, as a group of protesters shouted
racial slurs at them, calling them "monkeys" and "dogs".
One person suspected of organising the protest against the Papuan students in Surabaya had been named a criminal suspect, while a half dozen police officers have also been temporarily suspended pending an investigation.
Emigre
Papuans living in the Indonesian capital protested in front of the
presidential
palace in solidarity with disturbances back home
|
One person suspected of organising the protest against the Papuan students in Surabaya had been named a criminal suspect, while a half dozen police officers have also been temporarily suspended pending an investigation.
Jakarta
took control of Papua, a former Dutch colony, in the 1960s after an
independence referendum widely viewed as a sham.
Despite a
push to develop its infrastructure, many Papuans say they're treated like
second-class citizens and have not received a fair share of vast mineral wealth
in a region home to the world's biggest gold mine.
"This
is the culmination of years of assuming that roads and money were the keys to
addressing Papuan grievances," said Sidney Jones, director of
Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC).
"The
accusations of racism came on top of what was already smouldering anger,"
she added.
Jakarta
took control of Papua, a former Dutch colony, in the 1960s after an
independence referendum widely viewed as a sham
Hundreds of
demonstrators marched through Papua's biggest city, Jayapura, setting fire to a
regional assembly building
Emigre
Papuans living in the Indonesian capital protested in front of the presidential
palace in solidarity with disturbances back home.
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