Students and civilians clashed with law enforcement personnel in Indonesia’s insurgency-hit Papua during a protest attended by hundreds of residents demanding the withdrawal of military personnel from the region, a police official said.
A military operation conducted in the region earlier this month allegedly resulted in the death of 15 people, including women and children.
The operation was carried out against armed separatists who have sought independence for the resource-rich Papua region since 1969, when a vote overseen by the United Nations brought it under Indonesian control following more than six decades of Dutch colonial rule.
The country’s human rights watchdog last week confirmed the deaths and called for the government to review operations in the region.
The military has yet to acknowledge the casualties.
Yesterday, around 800 protesters rallied in three locations in the capital of Papua province, Jayapura, before gathering in the city centre, said Cahyo Sukarnito, the spokesperson for the Papua provincial police.
They called on the government to withdraw the military from all of Papua’s six provinces, and ensure that decades of violence were brought to an end, said Cahyo, acknowledging that the deaths during recent military operations had sparked local anger.
Tear gas and a water cannon were deployed to disperse protesters in one location after they threw rocks at the police, Cahyo said.
He added that five police personnel were injured, but there were no reports of injuries among the protesters.
Footage from local media Tribun Papua showed police personnel in protective gear carrying batons as they approached the protesters.
Once the clashes abated, the demonstrations continued peacefully, and several regional lawmakers arrived on site to meet protesters and listen to their demands.
Papua is home to the world’s second-largest gold and copper mine, Grasberg, which is owned jointly by the Indonesian government and US mining giant Freeport. — Reuters
