Head of the Papua Provincial Religious Affairs Office Priest Amsal Yowei preceded the meeting by reading out the outcome of the meeting of the Papua Religious Adherents Solidarity Forum (FKUB).
During the FKUB meeting, the religious community had appealed to all elements of the community to partake in maintaining peace and order in Papua and to reject all forms of racism and violent rallying.
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The forum appealed to the management of Papuan student dormitories outside Papua to attend and protect Papuan students until the completion of their studies and urged the Communication and Informatics Ministry to remove restriction on Internet access in Papua.
Chief of the FKUB Chapter in Papua Priest Lipius Biniluk expressed hope that the violent rally on August 29 to express rejection to the alleged racist slurs against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, on August 16, would not recur.
He urged local residents to exercise caution in the receipt and dissemination of information and to maintain a practice of checking the validity of any information to prevent the circulation of fake news or hoaxes that can easily incite the public.
A spate of violent rallies erupted in several parts of Papua and West Papua as an upshot of the alleged racist slurs against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, on August 16.
In the West Papua provincial capital of Manokwari, a rally against the alleged racist slurs took a violent turn on August 19, with some protesters setting ablaze a local parliamentary building and tires in several parts of the city.
A violent demonstration again erupted in the Papua provincial capital of Jayapura on August 29. The brutal demonstrators went on a rampage, vandalizing and setting ablaze several government buildings.
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Translator: Evarukdijati/Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
