Announcement of the declaration was made at the Biak Police Headquarters here on Monday.
Biak’s traditional prominent figures, religious leaders, local officials, women, and youth declared a four-point agreement, the first being their agreement to unity in Papua, while the second voiced their concurrence to leading a harmonious, peaceful, and loving existence. The third point reiterates their commitment to rejecting hoaxes, while the fourth point affirms the Biak people’s rejection of separatist and radical groups in Papua.
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District Head of Biak Numfor Herry Ario Naap is optimistic that the declaration, initiated by the Niak Police, would be materialized to uphold public order and security.
Naap has called on the residents of Biak to lead a harmonious existence in spite of following different faiths.
The Biak Numfor district head further urged the people to not be incited by social media messages influencing them into staging protests.
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Naap has called on the police to probe racism slurring against Papuan students in Surabaya and Malang, East Java.
Biak Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Mada Indra Laksanta remarked that the Indonesian Police have taken stern measures on those exhibiting racist behavior against Papua's university students.
"The Indonesian Police do not tolerate any citizen violating laws and will take firm actions in line with the existing regulations," Laksanta stated.
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He expressed gratitude to all residents in Biak, comprising religious leaders and traditional community figures, for helping the Police in maintaining order and security in Biak.
The situation in the provinces of Papua and West Papua is currently conducive after a wave of violence cast a shadow on several parts of Papua and West Papua in the outcome of the Surabaya incident that fueled public ire among native Papuans.
Over the past week, native Papuans from different parts of Papua and West Papua demonstrated to express their unequivocal rejection to the alleged racist slurring against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, on August 16.
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On August 19, several thousand people in Manokwari, West Papua Province, and Jayapura, Papua Province, had protested to echo their discontent over alleged racist behavior against Papuan students in Surabaya and Malang, East Java.
During the rally in Manokwari, a local parliamentary building was set on fire. The demonstrators also burnt tires across various parts of the city and main streets.
On August 29, the indigenous Papuan residents of Jayapura, the capital city of Papua, again protested as an outburst to the Surabaya incident, but their rally then took a violent turn.
The brutal demonstrators went on a rampage, vandalizing and setting ablaze to several government buildings. The office of ANTARA, Indonesia's national news agency, in the city was also intentionally damaged by the demonstrators. Related news: Withdraw troops from Papua to avoid confrontation: analyst
Translator: Muhsidin, Fardah
Editor: Azizah Fitriyanti
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
