At least 20 killed, dozens injured in Papua unrest

At least 20 people were killed and dozens more injured as fresh unrest erupted in Indonesia’s restive Papua region yesterday, 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 yesterday. 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. Yesterday ’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.