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Reuters

Associated Press

Protesters in Indonesia’s Papua province set fire to a local government building and broke into a prison on Thursday as thousands rallied against racism and called for their region’s independence, officials said.
National police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said the building was torched in Abepura town in Jayapura, the provincial capital.
“Several public facilities and properties were damaged by rioters,” said Dedi. “Authorities are trying to control the situation.”
Demonstrators also set fire to a building housing the offices of state-controlled telecoms firm Telkomunikasi Indonesia.
Indonesia cuts internet in Papua to prevent more violent protests
The PLN utility turned off power in areas around the torched building, Ahmad Rofik, said its regional director for Maluku and Papua.
Police fired tear gas to scatter demonstrators who set fire to cars and threw stones at shops and offices, state news agency Antara said.

State energy firm Pertamina shut several gas stations in Jayapura over the protest, said its spokesman, Fajriyah Usman.
The government has blocked telecommunication and internet access in the region since last week amid spreading protests that have at times turned violent.
The protests were triggered by videos circulated on the internet showing security forces calling Papuan students “monkeys” and “dogs” in East Java’s Surabaya city.

A video from Abepura showed demonstrators, including students in yellow jackets, chanting “Freedom Papua” and paving posters reading “We are not monkeys”.
Many in the crowd wore headbands adorned with the Morning Star flag that is a separatist group symbol, and held banners demanding a referendum for independence.
Wiranto, the coordinating minister for Politics, Law and Security told reporters ahead of a hearing with lawmakers in Jakarta that he received a report saying protesters had also broken into a prison in Abepura.
Six killed after Indonesian authorities open fire on Papuan protesters
Wiranto, who uses one name, said he instructed security forces in Papua not to take repressive measures and real bullets should not be used in dealing with the protesters.
Shooting broke out a day earlier between protesters and police in the town of Deiyai, about 500km from Jayapura.
At least one Indonesian soldier and two civilians were killed on Wednesday in a violent protest in Deiyai, a district in the province. Police said protesters stole at least 10 rifles.

Police have deployed 300 mobile brigade personnel to the towns of Deiyai, Paniai and Jayapura after Wednesday’s incident, the news agency quoted police chief Tito Karnavian as saying.
A separatist movement has simmered for decades in Papua, while there have also been frequent complaints of rights abuses by Indonesian security forces.
The spark for the latest unrest was a racist slur against Papuan students, who were hit by tear gas in their dormitory and detained in the city of Surabaya on the main island of Java on August 17 for allegedly desecrating an Indonesian flag.
Over 1,000 troops, police officers sent to Indonesia’s Papua, as riots spread
The government has cut internet access in the region since last week to stop people sharing “provocative” messages that could trigger more violence, a step criticised by rights group and journalists, who said it had made reporting difficult.
Indonesia maintains a significant police and military presence in the volatile provinces of Papua and West Papua, a mineral-rich region where a decades-long separatist movement simmers and the predominantly-Christian indigenous people resent an influx of Muslim Indonesians.
Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common in the impoverished region, which Indonesia annexed more than half a century ago, before it was incorporated into the country in 1969 after a UN-sponsored ballot that was seen as a sham by many.


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Indonesia

Power cut off in capital of Indonesia’s Papua as protesters set fire to public property

A Papuan student with her face painted with the colors of the separatist Morning Star flag. Photo: AP

Papuans take part in a rally in front of the presidential palace and army headquarters in Jakarta on August 28, 2019, in the latest protest after riots and demonstrations last week brought several Papuan cities in eastern Indonesia to a standstill. - A soldier was killed in Indonesia's Papua region on August 28 during a clash with separatist protesters, officials said, with the territory gripped by unrest. (Photo by BAY ISMOYO / AFP)

Papuan students shout slogans during a rally near the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019. A group of West Papuan students in Indonesia's capital staged the protest against racism and called for independence for their region. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Smoke is seen during a protest in Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia, August 29, 2019 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Dian Kandipi/ via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT.

A Papuan student, whose face is painted with the colours of the separatist Morning Star flag, holds up a poster during a rally. Photo: AP

Six killed after Indonesian authorities open fire on Papuan protesters

Papuan activists with their faces painted with the colours of the separatist Morning Star flag. Photo: AP

Fresh violence erupts in Indonesia’s Papua region, as anger spreads over alleged racist abuse of students

Papuans at a rally in Timika, Papua province. Photo: AP

Protesters gather under the banned Papuan flag in the city of Fakfak on August 21, 2019. - Indonesia's Papua was hit by fresh unrest on August 21 as more than 1,000 security personnel were sent to the restive region after violent protests that saw buildings torched and street battles between police and demonstrators. (Photo by STR / AFP)

A building, set on fire by rioting demonstrators, is seen in Sorong on August 20, 2019. - Indonesian authorities were hunting for more than 250 inmates who escaped a Papua prison set ablaze during violent riots, officials said August 20, as fresh protests broke out in the restive region triggered by reports that authorities tear-gassed and detained some 43 Papuan university students in the Southeast Asian nation's second-biggest city Surabaya on August 17 -- Indonesia's independence day. (Photo by Hasyim Kelirey / AFP)

Papuans hold posters during a protest in Timika, Papua province, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. Indonesia has deployed over 1,000 security personnel to the restive province of West Papua amid spreading violent protests sparked by accusations that security forces had arrested and insulted Papuan students in East Java . (AP Photo/Jimmy Rahadat)

Indonesian soldiers stand as they arrive at Domine Eduard Osok Airport to be deployed to Sorong and Manokwari following the protests in Sorong, West Papua, Indonesia, August 20, 2019 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Picture taken August 20, 2019 Antara Foto/Olha Mulalinda/ via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT.

epa07783654 Papuan people load their belongings on a truck as smoke rises from a burning building after a violent protest in Fakfak, West Papua Province, Indonesia, 21 August 2019. According to media reports, the Indonesian government sent more than 1000 security personnel to West Papua province as unrest triggered by accusations that security insulted Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, continued. EPA-EFE/BEAWIHARTA -- BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE

Buildings burn as protesters take to the streets in the city of Fakfak on August 21, 2019. - Indonesia's Papua was hit by fresh unrest on August 21 as more than 1,000 security personnel were sent to the restive region after violent protests that saw buildings torched and street battles between police and demonstrators. (Photo by STR / AFP)

Is Chinese support for Pacific nations shaping their stance on Indonesia’s West Papua?

Protesters gather under the banned West Papuan flag in the city of Fakfak. Photo: AFP

epa07774253 Kiribati's President Taneti Maamau, Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna, Tonga's Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare pose for the family photo before the Leaders Retreat at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Funafuti, Tuvalu, 15 August 2019. The 50th Pacific Islands Forum and Related Meetings, fostering cooperation between governments comprising 18 countries in the region, run from 13 to 16 August 2019 in Tuvalu. EPA-EFE/MICK TSIKAS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

epa07774278 An aerial view of the of the narrowest part of the island is seen north of Funafuti, Tuvalu, 15 August 2019. The 50th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and Related Meetings, fostering cooperation between governments comprising 18 countries in the region, run from 13 to 16 August 2019 in Tuvalu. EPA-EFE/MICK TSIKAS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Indonesia blocks internet in Papua to prevent more violent protests

People protest against the violence in Indonesia's eastern Papua province. Photo: AFP

A police officer escorts a woman during a protest in Mimika, Papua, Indonesia, August 21, 2019 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Sevianto Pakiding via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. INDONESIA OUT.

Indonesian soldiers ride a vehicle with a smashed out windscreen following unrest in Timika on August 21, 2019. - Indonesia's Papua was hit by fresh unrest on August 21 as more than 1,000 security personnel were sent to the restive region after violent protests that saw buildings torched and street battles between police and demonstrators. (Photo by SEVIANTO PAKIDING / AFP)

Local market is seen burning during a protest in Fakfak, Papua province, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. Indonesia has deployed over 1,000 security personnel to the restive province of West Papua amid spreading violent protests sparked by accusations that security forces had arrested and insulted Papuan students in East Java . (AP Photo/Beawiharta)

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Police fired tear gas to scatter demonstrators who set fire to cars and threw stones at shops and offices, state media said
For almost two weeks, the region has been racked by civil unrest over perceived racial and ethnic discrimination



Police fired tear gas to scatter demonstrators who set fire to cars and threw stones at shops and offices, state media said.


Human rights