Papua police arrest two in double homocide
Papua police arrest two in double homocide
Nethy Dharma Somba and M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post,
Jayapura/Jakarta
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said officers had
arrested two people in the murders of two ojek (motorcycle taxi)
drivers in Timika, Papua.
"We have arrested two people who are believed to have attacked
the drivers. However, I need to emphasize once again that the
murders of the two drivers were ordinary crimes (and not
politically motivated)," Da'i said on Tuesday.
After a brief period of calm, Timika again became tense on
Monday following the killing of two migrants who worked as ojek
drivers. The situation was exacerbated by rumors that four
migrant women had been raped by indigenous Papuans.
Fearing the situation could degenerate into ethnic violence,
local police and military authorities stepped up security in
Timika, the site of five days of bloody clashes between
supporters and opponents of the establishment of Central Irian
Jaya province. The violence last week left at least five people
dead.
Timika Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Paulus Waterpauw said on
Tuesday the security situation in the area had gradually returned
to normal.
"One of the indicators (of this normalcy) is that activities
in the marketplace have slowly returned to normal," he told The
Jakarta Post.
He also said the migrant community in the city understood that
the murders of the ojek drivers were unfortunate crimes, but that
the drivers were not targeted because they were migrants.
Meanwhile, over 1,000 students from 14 universities and
colleges in Jayapura protest on Tuesday against the partitioning
of Papua province.
The students began their protest on the campus of Cendrawasih
University before marching to the Papua governor's office. The
protest resulted in heavy traffic congestion along the Abepura-
Jayapura highway.
In fiery speeches, the protesters lambasted the central
government's decision to split Papua into three provinces, saying
the people of Papua did not want the split.
"The decision is meant to divide and rule the people of
Papua," one of the protesters shouted.
They also demanded a thorough investigation into the deaths of
Papuans during the violence in Timika.
In Jakarta, a group of Papuans living in the capital staged a
protest at the National Police Headquarters and the Ministry of
Home Affairs.
Dozens of protesters took turns delivering speeches opposing
the partitioning of the country's easternmost province. They
demanded the resignation of Minister of Justice and Human Rights
Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno,
who they blamed for the division of the province and the ensuing
violence.
Separately, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung
called on the central government to initiate a dialog between
local leaders in Papua, to ease the tension in the resource-rich
province.
"President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her Cabinet members
should visit the province and hold talks with local leaders
there," Antara news agency quoted him as saying in Bandung, West
Java.
He said the House would not establish a special committee to
deal with Papua. However, he said it would discuss the matter in
future meetings with the home minister.
"However, if the security situation in Papua worsens, the door
is still open for the House to summon the government over the
issue," Akbar said.