Tension high in Papua village

Tension high in Papua village

INDONESIA: The situation in Tinggi Nambut village, Puncak Jaya
regency remained tense on Friday, following the murder of five
construction workers, all migrants from Makassar, South Sulawesi
province earlier on Tuesday.

Fearing a backlash from the Indonesian Police, the alleged
Papuan separatists, who have been accused over the killings of
the migrants and have been holed up in the village, located in
the central highlands of Papua, burned down public buildings,
including elementary schools and the subdistrict cooperative
office on Friday.

No fatalities were reported during the fires, which were
apparently aimed at shifting the attention of the Indonesian
police, according to preliminary speculation by Comr. Wempy
Batlayeri, the chief of Paniai police overseeing Puncak Jaya
regency in Papua province, on Saturday. -- JP