They will leave Sentani Airport at 07.20 a.m. local time in flight GA0657 and arrive at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 10.30 a.m. local time, Head of West Java Provincial Government's Social Affairs Office, Dodo Suhendar, said here on Tuesday.
From the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, they would be transported to Bandung, the capital city of West Java Province, to be greeted by Governor, Ridwan Kamil, and then head to their respective destinations.
Suhendar said these 69 survivors come from various districts and cities across West Java, including Garut, Majalengka, Sukabumi, Bandung (district), Bandung (city), Kuningan, Tasikmalaya, Sumedang, Subang, Purwakarta, Bogor, and Indramayu.
Their flight tickets were purchased using funds donated by the National Alms Agency (Baznas)-West Java Chapter and Daarut Tauhid's Care.
"Prior to their departure, they underwent medical check-ups at the Baznas-Papua Chapter, and they are all in good health," Dodo Suhendar said.
The Wamena rioting has left many Indonesians in misery. The incident did not merely claim 33 lives of innocent civilians but it also forced several thousand survivors to take refuge by leaving their torched and destroyed properties behind.
In the aftermath of the incident, many survivors of the Wamena rioting, originally from provinces such as West Sumatra, South Sulawesi, East Java, and Banten, returned to their hometowns.
The rioting was incited by hoaxes spread through social media platforms that fueled ire among the residents, Papua Police Chief Inspector, General Rudolf A. Rodja, claimed.
Several local media reports confirmed Rodja's claim that the Wamena riot was spurred by hoaxes about a teacher's racist slur against native Papuan students.
Considering the casualties, the Wamena riot has become the deadliest of a wave of violence that erupted in several parts of Papua and West Papua over the past two months following the Surabaya incident on August 16 that triggered resentment and fury among native Papuans.
The Indonesian police blamed Benny Wenda, a campaigner of the Free Papua Movement, who enjoys a good life in the United Kingdom, for the spate of violence that broke out in these two Indonesian provinces, including the latest deadly rioting in Wamena.
In response to this miserable condition, several district and provincial administrations, whose people were directly affected by the Wamena rioting had facilitated their evacuation from Papua.
The Banten provincial administration brought 23 Wamena riot survivors originally from the Banten home. Related news: Blitar district govt ready to evacuate its people from Papua: official
Related news: Ten Acehnese survivors of Wamena riot take refuge
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Ajat S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
