Manokwari Tense as Shops Vandalized and Police Post Burned

The fatal shooting of an escaped convict by police in West Papua’s provincial capital led a mob to damage several shops and burn a police outpost there on Wednesday, residents said.

Residents said the city was paralyzed after mobs set up road blocks across Manokwari and vandalized several shops. Another protesting group carried a coffin to the Manokwari district police headquarters.

“I am still seeking information on that,” said Papua Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. I Gede Sumerta Jaya when contacted by phone. 

The first roadblock was set up on Jalan Yos Sudarso in front of the Swissbell Hotel in Manokwari at 2:00 a.m., according to residents, and similar roadblocks have since been erected at several other locations in town.

Residents said the unrest was sparked by the death of Timotius Ap, a prison escapee who was shot and killed by police officers on Tuesday as they attempted to arrest him in the Maripi Pantai area of South Manokwari. Police said the fugitive was resisting arrest.

Police also confiscated a home-assembled handgun and three bullets, as well as the motorcycle Timotius had been riding.

Unconfirmed reports said the police post at the Sanggeng market in downtown Manokwari was burned to the ground.

The incidents marked just the latest violence against police in the restive Papua region, where a variety of issues related to resource rights, perceived injustices and human rights abuses by security forces have plagued the nation’s easternmost provinces.

Last week, a group of some 50 men attacked and burned down a police post in the Papua district of Lanny Jaya, killing three officers.

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