2023 Wamena riot | |||
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Date | 23 February 2023 | ||
Location | |||
Parties | |||
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Casualties and losses | |||
12 total killed (rioters and non-rioters) [1] 20+ civilians and rioters injured [2] 18 police and soldiers injured [3] |
On 23 February 2023 (UTC+9), a riot broke out in Sinakma, Wamena, Highland Papua when a crowd of Papuans attacked Indonesian security personnel following the arrest of two Bataks merchants accused of child kidnapping. In the ensuing clash, a number of buildings were damaged, with twelve civilians and rioters killed including both merchants. Tens of security personnel and civilians were also injured.
Tensions between Indonesian authorities and Papuan locals in the highland regions of Papua had been running high in early 2023, especially following the Nduga hostage crisis. [4] The town of Wamena had previously seen large-scale rioting in 2019 where tens of civilians were killed, mostly non-Papuans. [5] Indonesian authorities had accused armed groups affiliated with the separatist National Committee for West Papua of being behind the 2019 riot. [6] A more immediate cause was the rise of child kidnapping rumors in social media all over Indonesia in early 2023, with a woman accused of child kidnapping being burned alive by a mob in Sorong. She was later proven innocent. [7] [8]
The riot occurred on 23 February 2023. According to local human rights activist Theo Hasegem, the riot broke out after a misunderstanding between two Batak merchants and a local Papuan child in the Sinakma Market resulted in the merchants being accused of kidnapping. Local community leader Gibson Kogoya remarked that the merchants had asked for the child to hop on a pickup truck he used as a kiosk when the child wanted to purchase items, but the child perceived this to be a kidnapping attempt and fled. Accounts from the Indonesian authorities noted that locals had halted the merchants and brought them to the police station, where the involved parties clarified the situation. [5] [9] This clarification did not happen in the police station as intended, but on the street near to the location where the alleged incident happened. [10]
While the merchants were in police custody, an angry crowd of Papuans gathered, [5] [9] at around 12:30 local time (05:30 UTC). [11] Indonesian authorities claimed that a chain message accusing the police of protecting child kidnappers had spread through WhatsApp. [12] When the crowd demanded that the police release the merchants for public questioning, the police refused. Tensions continued to rise and the merchant was evacuated in a riot control vehicle. In an attempt to disperse the crowd, security personnel utilized tear gas, batons and warning shots. The crowd became agitated and a number of shophouses belonging to Batak were set on fire. Clashes then occurred, which resulted in a number of deaths and injuries. [5] [9] Both of the accused Batak merchants, Albert Sitorus and Ramot Siagian, were killed during the rioting. [13] It was later reported that fifteen buildings were torched during the rioting. [14]
In the aftermath of the rioting, Indonesian security forces deployed 200 additional personnel to secure the area, [4] including a Mobile Brigade company. [15] By the following day, the situation was described by authorities as "conducive", with no further violence reported. [4] [1] They also reported that ten civilians had been killed, while 18 police officers or soldiers had been injured by either arrows or thrown rocks. [3] Out of the ten civilians initially reported killed, either seven [9] or eight were reportedly rioters shot by security forces, the rest being non-Papuan civilians killed by rioters. [3] Hasegem reported that nine Papuans were killed, [5] eight of whom were shot. He further noted that most of the killed Papuans had been shot in the head or neck. [16] By 24 February, authorities had confirmed twelve deaths: Sitorus and Siagian, along with ten Papuans. [1] At least 23 injuries among civilians and rioters were recorded. [2]
Due to the incident, schools in the town were closed the following day. [17] Thousands of civilians took refuge in the local military and police headquarters or places of worship. [5] The police chief for Papua, Mathius D. Fakhiri , initiated an evaluation on the conduct of local police units, and requested that police use a "soft" approach in responding to locals due to heightened tensions. [18] The ten Papuans killed were buried on 25 February at the Sinakma Public Cemetery. The previous day, bodies of Sitorus and Siagian had been flown to Jayapura and later to Medan. [1] [19]
On 26 February, authorities arrested 13 individuals suspected of inciting the riots. [20] They were released two days later. [21] Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD later stated that the riot had nothing to do with the ongoing separatist movement, and had been purely incited by the kidnapping rumor. [22] The Tempo newspaper in an editorial blamed the security forces' "violent" approach in Papua for causing the riot. [23]
The Free Papua Movement or Free Papua Organization is a name given to independence movement based on Western New Guinea, seeking the secession of the territory currently administered by Indonesia as the provinces of Central Papua, Highland Papua, Papua, South Papua, Southwest Papua, and West Papua, also formerly known as Papua, Irian Jaya and West Irian.
Wamena, also known as the District of Wamena, is a large town in the Western New Guinea region of Indonesia. It also serves as the seat of Jayawijaya Regency. It is the largest town in the province of Highland Papua, located in the Baliem Valley and had a population of 64,967 in the 2020 Census; the official estimate in mid 2022 was 65,766. Wamena is the urban centre of a rural area housing Highland Papua's highest concentration of population, with over 300,000 people inhabiting the Baliem Valley and surrounding areas. These people belong to a number of related ethnic groups, the most prominent of which are the Dani, Lani and Yali.
Mohamad, Ardyan (2016-03-31). "Filipina tolak TNI ikut bebaskan WNI disandera Abu Sayyaf". merdeka.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
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On 18 December 2016, an Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130H Hercules crashed on Mount Lisuwa while approaching Wamena Airport in Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. The aircraft, which was flying a co-pilot training mission, was carrying twelve crew members of the Indonesian Air Force and one passenger. The aircraft was destroyed on impact; all thirteen occupants died.
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The 2019 Papua protests were a series of protests by Papuans in Indonesia that began on 19 August 2019 and mainly took place across Indonesian Papua region in response to the arrests of 43 Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java for alleged disrespect of the Indonesian flag. Many of the protests involved thousands of participants, and some grew from local protests in Surabaya to demanding an independence referendum for the whole region. In several locations, the protests turned into general riots, resulting in the destruction of government buildings in Wamena, Sorong and Jayapura. Clashes between protesters and police resulted in injuries, with over 30 people killed from both the clashes and the rioting.
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Highland Papua is a province of Indonesia, which roughly follows the borders of Papuan customary region of Lano-Pago, shortened to La Pago. It covers an area of 51,213.34 km2 (19,773.58 sq mi) and had a population of 1,430,459 according to the official estimates as at mid 2022.
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The following is the broad timeline for major events in the Papua conflict.
The Nduga hostage crisis began on 7 February 2023 when Free Papua Movement insurgents attacked a plane and took its pilot and all five passengers hostage. While the passengers were soon released, New Zealander pilot Phillip Mark Mehrtens remains in captivity.
In early 2023, rumours regarding child kidnappings across Indonesia triggered a series of mass hysteria and vigilante actions across the country. The rumours were mostly spread through WhatsApp, Facebook, and TikTok which, according to authorities, were mostly fake. The rumours resulted in injuries and fatalities in some places, with the most severe cases resulting in a riot in Wamena which killed twelve people; and in Sorong, where a woman was burned alive. In other places such as North Musi Rawas Regency, five men were injured after being beaten by a mob who accused them of kidnapping; and in Surabaya, where a mentally ill person was also beaten to death by a mob.