Jakarta: At least 32 people have been killed and 60 seriously injured, in the violence that broke out two days ago, in the West Papua province in Indonesia. The dead also includes military officials. Further, President Joko Widodo has appealed to the people not to believe in ‘Fake News’. Even in August, there had been a strong protest in West Papua.
West Papua, a part of the Papua New Guinea, in the Indo-Pacific sector, was integrated to Indonesia in 1969. Following a referendum in this region, this was considered to be a part of Indonesia. However, the people from this region accuse Indonesia of annexing the West Papua region by force, in 1963 and 1969.
The population in West Papua belongs to a different ethnicity than the Indonesian people with a different language, culture and many other factors. It is these issues which lead the people of West Papua to initiate conflict, giving rise to many big and small groups which are active in West Papua for the last four decades. However, on the strength of its military and the deployment of security forces, the Indonesian government has succeeded in keeping the upper hand in this region.
Nevertheless, unrest has yet again sparked over the issue of racial discrimination and language in West Papua drawing furious reactions even on trivial matters. Last month, the protest was triggered by the incident of some Indonesian people nagging the youth from West Papua. At this time, the armed groups from West Papua had declared a decisive war against the Indonesian government.
Indonesian President Widodo was successful in curbing the protests making some expeditious moves. However, the protest has again broken out on the issue of apartheid resulting in intense violence in the cities of Jayapura and Wamena, in West Papua. The protest has seen the participation of groups of students, and they have set many buildings, shops and cars on fire. At the same time, some groups have also attacked the security agencies, informed sources.
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