Indonesia’s Chief Security Minister on Friday urged calm in the easternmost region of Papua after the violent protests, saying demonstrators’ demands for an investigation into racism had been met.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Wiranto Wiranto, made the remarks during a joint news conference with several Papuan figures in the capital, Jakarta.
“Let’s return to calm, return to peace, think about the future where there is no destruction and there is development,’’ Wiranto said.
The government has repeatedly called for calm in Papua, racked by the most serious civil unrest in years over perceived racial and ethnic discrimination.
Some protesters are also demanding a referendum on independence.
The spark for the latest protests was a racist slur against Papuan students.
The students were hit by tear gas in their dormitory and detained in the city of Surabaya on the main island of Java on Aug. 17, for allegedly desecrating a national flag.
A legal process was underway for two military personnel involved in the Surabaya incident.
Wiranto said the police had identified two people, suspected of hate speech, who were among the crowd that mobbed the dormitory. (Reuters/NAN)