Indonesia detains over 1,000 Papuans ahead of minister’s visit to restive province
Protesters demand independent body conduct human rights probe rather than Joko Widodo-led government
Indonesia on Wednesday briefly detained more than 1,000 pro-independence demonstrators in its eastern province of Papua, ahead of a visit by a top security official to look into claims of human rights violations.
Papua has been gripped by a long-running and often violent separatist conflict since it was incorporated into Indonesia after a widely-criticised UN-backed referendum in 1969. Dutch colonial rule ended in 1963.
Security forces still maintain a strong presence and are often seen as taking a heavy-handed approach to peaceful demonstrations, activists say.
The protesters took to the streets in Sentani, near Papua’s provincial capital, to demand that an independent body conduct human rights investigations rather than the Indonesian government. They were detained for protesting without a permit.
“We localised them so their movements were limited,” said Papua police spokesman Patridge Renwarin. “We did not arrest anyone.”
The police action was backed by Atmadji Sumarkdijo, an aide of Chief Security Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who is set to visit the province on Thursday.