Police Hunt Social Media Account Inciting Riots in Papua

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Police (Polri) announced it would thoroughly investigate the cause of the riots that broke out in Manokwari, Papua, today. The initial cause of the widespread incident across Manokwari, Sorong, and Jayapura, is believed to be worsened by false information on social media.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said the police would investigate the admin who ran the troubled social media account.

“Manokwari is a truly conducive place, don’t be provoked by the works of people who want otherwise,” said Dedi at the Polri headquarters on Monday, August 19.

The uproar in Manokwari resulted in damaged public facilities such as the West Papua Province’s Legislative Council (DPRD) headquarters in the region, which was burned by protesters, and the former office of the Governor of Papua.  

Dedi maintained that the situation in Surabaya following an incident involving Papuan students, which caused the public uproar in Manokwari, was already under control.

On Saturday, August 17, a dormitory of Papuan university students in Surabaya caused an uproar after the students refused to fly the Indonesian flag and abused the flag during the Independence Day. The police responded by raiding the dorm and temporarily detaining 43 students, before sending them home again at night.

M ROSSENO AJI