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West Papua protests: Indonesia deploys 1,000 soldiers to quell unrest, cuts internet
Jakarta cuts
online access to Papua ‘and surrounding areas’ until the atmosphere ‘returns to
being conducive and
normal’
Kate Lamb in Jakarta, and Ben Doherty Thu 22 Aug 2019 06.57 BST
Deploy: Desplegar
To quell: Calmar
Unrest: Aldarulls / Disturbios
Return to be conducive: Tornin a la
normalitat / Vuelvan a la normalidad
Indonesia has
deployed more than 1,000 security personnel to West Papua and cut internet
access, amid days of violent demonstrations in what activists say are the
largest protests to occur in the region in years.
On Wednesday,
violent unrest occurred in Fakfak, where a market was set ablaze and street battles
erupted between police and protesters.
Ablaze: Cremar / Arder
Waving the
banned Morning Star flag, a symbol of West Papuan independence, protesters
chanted “we are not red and white”, in reference to the colours of the
Indonesian flag.
Police fired
tear gas after the crowds set fire to a market and destroyed ATMs and shops,
local media reported. The crowd dispersed when riot police fired warning shots.
Indonesian media reported police arrested 45 people, including some they
accused of masterminding
the protests and damaging buildings.
Mastermind: Dirigir, ésser el
cervell d’una accció / Dirigir, ser el cerebro de una acción
It followed days
of large and violent protests across multiple cities in the region, which is
divided into the provinces of Papua and West Papua.
The groundswell of anger that
has fuelled the demonstrators was sparked by an incident in the Javanese city
of Surabaya on the weekend, where nationalist groups goaded Papuan students with racist taunts,
calling them “monkeys”, “pigs” and “dogs”.
Groundswell:
Mar de fons / Mar de fondo
Goad: Provocar
amb insults / Provocar con insultos
The exiled West
Papuan leader, Benny Wenda, said the subsequent arrests of the Papuan students
in Surabaya had “lit the bonfire of nearly 60 years of racism, discrimination
and torture of the people of West Papua by Indonesia”.
Angered by the
racist slurs, Papuans began taking to the streets on Monday, first in Jayapura,
from where violent protests have since spread to Manokwari, Fakfak, Timika and,
on Thursday morning, Nabire, where demonstrators held signs with messages such
as: “Papua merdeka, itu yang monyet inginkan,” or “Free Papua, this is what the
monkeys want.”
Slur: Insult / Insulto
(Per fer-nos una idea de les dimensions, la distància entre Jakarta i Jayapura és la mateixa que hi ha entre Badajoz i Moscou.)
As an additional
1,000 military and police troops were sent in, Indonesia’s communications
ministry announced on Wednesday that internet access would be temporarily
blocked in Papua and its “surrounding areas” to “accelerate the process of
restoring security”.
It followed days
of an internet slowdown, and will last “until the atmosphere of Papua returns
to being conducive and normal”, the ministry said.
Also on
Wednesday, 5,000 people rallied in and around the city of Timika, the closest
town to the massive Freeport gold and copper mine, where demonstrators
reportedly threw rocks at the local parliament building and tried to tear down
its fence.
Hundreds also
marched through the streets of Sorong city, where protesters destroyed parts of
an airport and about 250 inmates escaped in a prison break on Monday, according
to West Papua’s police chief, Herry Rudolf Nahak.
Indonesia’s
chief security minister, Wiranto, who goes by one name, headed to Papua late on
Wednesday in a bid to quell tensions, while President Joko Widodo was scheduled
to visit next week.
Activists
criticised the internet blackout, saying it would make it difficult to verify
facts and ensure people’s safety, in an area where access by foreign
journalists is already restricted. For days, photos and videos posted on social
media have provided a rare glimpse at the extent of the unrest. (…)
“Courtesy of Guardian News & Media Ltd”.
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