Deputy chief of BRI representative office for the provinces of Papua and West Papua Tarmaji handed over the aid to Jayapura Mayor Benhur Tommy Mano on the sidelines of a roll-call at the Jayapura city administration and the Indonesian military and police on Monday.
The roll-call was held before community service to clear trash in the city following a violent rally last week.
The mayor affirmed that his side will accumulate data on refugees suffering from the direct impact of the violent rally, as several of them had left their home in fear.
"Admittedly, we have no data on the number of residents, who fell victim (to the rally). Hence, we will urge the unaffected refugees to return home without fear, as security personnel are on standby," he noted.
In the foremost stage, the BRI will provide 250 packages of assistance to the refugees sheltered at the Naval Base X Command Station in Jayapura, among others, Tarmiji revealed.
If it does not suffice, the BRI will increase it in accordance with the requirement, he stated.
Widespread demonstrations rocked several parts of the provinces of Papua and West Papua during the past week in angst over alleged racist slurs targeting Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, on Aug 16.
Thousands of people marched on the streets in the West Papua provincial capital of Manokwari and the Papua provincial capital of Jayapura to protest against the alleged racist slurs.
The rallies turned violent, with some demonstrators vandalizing and setting ablaze several government buildings.
Translator: Evarukdijati/Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
