Large demonstrations in Indonesia's Papua region turned violent on
Monday, as thousands protested against the weekend detention of dozens of
Papuan students. Demonstrators took to the streets of Manokwari, the capital of
West Papua province, burning the parliamentary building and local stores,
bringing the city of some 130,000 to a standstill as its civic building was
nearly reduced to ashes.
Parliament building burns during a protest in Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia |
Some protesters set fire to shops and
vehicles, knocked down street signs, and threw rocks at government buildings, according
to an AFP reporter at the scene. Indonesia appealed for calm and said there
would be an investigation of the incident that triggered the unrest in
Manokwari as well as protests in several other Papuan cities on Monday.
There were no immediate reports of
casualties. The demonstrations are still ongoing.
The riots marked the latest flash-point in a region hit by a decades-old insurgency against Indonesian rule
and allegations that its security forces committed widespread rights abuses
against its ethnic Melanesian population.
Protesters set fire to shops and vehicles, knocked down street signs, and threw rocks at government buildings in Manokwari, Papua, Indonesia, August 19, 2019. |
People burned tires during the protest at a road in Manokwari, West Papua, Indonesia, August 19, 2019. |
Local media and Papuan activists said police in riot gear stormed into a
dormitory to force out students who allegedly destroyed an Indonesian flag.
Police said the students were briefly questioned and set free.
Television footage on Saturday also
showed a different group of protesters demonstrating against the students and
shouting racial slurs about Papuans.
The unrest comes after two Indonesian
security personnel were killed over the past month in clashes with separatist
rebels.
Protesters take to the street to face off with Indonesian police in Manokwari, Papua, Indonesia, August 19, 2019. |
Last year, the National Liberation
Army of West Papua, part of a grouping of rebels fighting for Papuan
independence, killed at least 19 construction workers at a remote jungle camp
in Papua. The employees of a state-owned contractor had been building bridges
and roads as part of efforts to boost infrastructure in the impoverished
region. - Africa
No comments:
Post a Comment