20 Tewas, Puluhan Terluka akibat Bentrokan di Papua
At Least 20 killed, Dozens Injured in Papua Unrest: Indonesia Military
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
SEDIKITNYA 20 orang tewas dan puluhan lainnya luka-luka ketika kerusuhan baru meletus di wilayah Papua yang bergolak, Senin, dengan beberapa korban terbakar hingga tewas di gedung-gedung yang dibakar oleh para pengunjuk rasa, kata pihak berwenang.
Papua tercekam oleh protes keras selama berminggu-minggu yang dipicu oleh kemarahan atas rasisme, serta seruan baru untuk pemerintahan sendiri.
Enam belas orang tewas di kota Wamena di mana ratusan orang berdemonstrasi dan membakar kantor pemerintah dan bangunan lainnya, kata pihak berwenang.
"Sebagian besar dari mereka tewas dalam kebakaran," kata Kapendam Cenderawasih Letkol Cpl Eko Daryanto
"Korban tewas bisa meningkat karena banyak yang terjebak di kios yang terbakar," tambahnya.
Di antara para korban, 13 tewas adalah pendatang dan tiga adalah Papua, kata Daryanto, seraya menambahkan bahwa seorang tentara dan tiga warga sipil juga tewas di Jayapura, ibukota provinsi Papua, di mana pasukan keamanan dan pengunjuk rasa terlibat bentrok pada Senin.
Seorang prajurit TNI ditikam hingga mati, sementara tiga siswa tewas akibat luka tembak peluru karet, kata pihak berwenang, tanpa menjelaskan lebih lanjut.
Sekitar 300 orang ditangkap sehubungan dengan protes pada Senin, kata Daryanto, seraya menambahkan bahwa sekitar 65 orang telah terluka.
Bentrokan di Papua telah mereda dalam beberapa hari terakhir, tetapi berkobar lagi ketika ratusan pengunjuk rasa turun ke jalan - dan rumah-rumah serta toko-toko terbakar.
Protes Senin di Wamena - sebagian besar melibatkan anak-anak sekolah menengah - dilaporkan dipicu oleh komentar rasis yang dibuat oleh seorang guru, tetapi polisi membantah akun tersebut sebagai 'hoax' seperti dikutip AFP yang dilansir MailOnline.
AT LEAST 20 people were killed and dozens more injured as fresh unrest erupted in Indonesia's restive Papua region Monday, with some victims burned to death in buildings set ablaze by protesters, authorities said.
Papua, on the western half of New Guinea island, has been gripped by weeks of violent protests fuelled by anger over racism, as well as fresh calls for self-rule in the impoverished territory.
Sixteen people were killed in Wamena city where hundreds demonstrated and burned down a government office and other buildings, authorities said.
"Most of them died in a fire," said Papua military spokesman Eko Daryanto.
"The death toll could go up because many were trapped in burning kiosks," he added.
Among the victims, 13 were non-Papuans and three were Papuans, Daryanto said, adding that a soldier and three civilians also died in provincial capital Jayapura, where security forces and stone-throwing protesters clashed Monday.
The soldier was stabbed to death, while three students died from rubber bullet wounds, authorities said, without elaborating.
About 300 people were arrested in connection with Monday's protests, Daryanto said, adding that about 65 people had been injured.
The clashes in Papua had quietened down in recent days, but flared up again as hundreds took to the streets -- and houses and stores went up in flames.
Monday's protests in Wamena -- mostly involving high-schoolers -- were reportedly sparked by racist comments made by a teacher, but police have disputed that account as a "hoax".
Indonesia routinely blames separatists for violence in Papua, its easternmost territory, and conflicting accounts are common.
Demonstrations broke out across the region and in other parts of the Southeast Asian archipelago after the mid-August arrest and tear-gassing of dozens of Papuan students, who were also racially abused, in Indonesia's second-biggest city, Surabaya.
