Non-student protesters should stop using the Cenderawasih University (Uncen) campus in Jayapura, Papua, as a place to hide if they are being pursued by local police during rallies, according to the head of a student board.
Chairman of Uncen’s Students Executive Board (BEM) Paul Numberi said the
campus was not a place to shelter criminals, but was a place of
learning for the younger generations of the nation.
“The campus
is a place of learning, not a haven for criminals. We call upon
non-students not to carry out provocation on campus, especially that
which can harm the students and put them at a disadvantage,” Numberi
told reporters in Jayapura.
He was speaking of the frequency of which the Uncen campus was blocked whenever there was a rally in Jayapura.
Numberi
said thousands of Uncen students expressed regret whenever there was a
rally — carried out by a handful of students on behalf of all students —
because such actions disrupted learning and teaching on campus.
Separately,
Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian said police continued to
pursue the alleged criminals, despite the latter seeking refuge on
campus.
“Whenever police enter the campus, it doesn’t mean they are intervening but they are processing criminals,” Tito said.
Tito
added that the police did not have the authority to enter only two
places in Indonesia — the House of Representatives and regional
legislative offices during session and houses of worship during
religious services — but when a session or worship was completed, they
could enter for the sake of upholding the law.
“Entrance to these
two places is exempt during a session or service. We are only looking
for the suspects, not intervening but carrying out law enforcement,” he
said.