6 protesters killed in Papua clash
JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities shot dead six protesters in its unrest-wracked Papua region yesterday, according to an eyewitness, while authorities said a soldier was killed in the clash.
Local priest Santon Tekege said the chaos erupted after several thousand people rallied in the remote district of Deiyai – following riots and demonstrations across the region last week when buildings were torched and street battles broke out between police and protesters.
In Deiyai, authorities fired tear gas to disperse yesterday’s demonstration, sparking an angry response that saw a group of protesters attack a soldier, Tekege added.
The military then opened fire on the crowd, according to Tekege, who said he was at the demonstration.
“Six of them died,” he said, adding that several more demonstrators were injured and sent to hospital.
A report in local news website Suarapapua.com earlier yesterday also said six demonstrators were gunned down. The deaths could not be independently verified.
Indonesia’s military – long accused of committing rights abuses against Papuans during a decades-long separatist insurgency – did not confirm the civilian deaths, but said a soldier was killed and several more were injured by Papuans armed with machetes and bows and arrows.
About 150 protesters had descended on Deiyai’s government office, demanding that the district head sign an agreement to hold a referendum on Papuan independence, said national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo.
“The report about civilian deaths is unconfirmed,” he added.
Conflicting accounts are common in Papua, a resourcerich but impoverished island that shares a border with Papua New Guinea. — AFP