Dozens of Papuans in Semarang and Salatiga in Central Java and Yogyakarta rallied in front of Semarang Police headquarters on Thursday, urging the government to take steps to stop violence in Papua.
The Papuans, grouped under the aegis of National Solidarity of Papua
(Napas), urged the government to withdraw Indonesian Military (TNI)
troops from the province, set up a dialogue between Papuan leaders and
the central government and form a team to investigate the violence.
“There
have been some shootings in Papua. We are worried for the safety of our
friends and relatives safety,” Otis, the coordinator of the rally, said
on Thursday.
Four people, including police officer Brig. Yohan
Kisiwaitoi, were killed during recent attacks by unidentified
perpetrators in Papua.
“We are afraid that all the attacks are
just parts of the strategy of some people who want to tear us Papuans
apart,” Otis added.
Similar protests also occurred in some other
cities such as Jakarta; Bandung and Bogor, West Java; and Malang and
Surabaya, East Java.