What they did is barbaricJayapura, Papua (ANTARA) - The Papua provincial government has called on security personnel to trace and crack down on armed Papuan criminals, who had shot dead two teachers last week.
"What they did is barbaric," Papua Deputy Governor Klemen Tinal stated in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, on Monday.
The deadly shootings conducted by the armed criminals in Julukoma Village, Beoga Sub-district, Puncak District, were not justifiable under any circumstances, Tinal emphasized.
Tinal pointed out that teachers brought positive impacts on Papuan children, so the fatal shootings of the two teachers could not be justified on any grounds.
Several armed Papuan criminals opened fire at a kiosk in Julukoma Village on Thursday (April 8) at about 9:30 a.m. local time.
The shooting incident resulted in the death of a Beoga public elementary school teacher, Oktovianus Rayo.
After killing Rayo, the armed attackers continued their acts of terror by torching three classrooms of the Beoga public senior high school.
On Friday (April 9), the armed Papuan criminals again assaulted another teacher, Yonatan Randen. This junior high school teacher was shot on his chest.
Several villagers attempted to save Randen's life by moving him to the Beoga public health center, but he died.
The armed Papuan criminals continued to pose a hindrance to the local authorities' endeavor to transport the slain teachers' coffins to Timika in Mimika District on Friday.
The notorious armed criminals, who stayed put in the Beoga Airport area, allowed an aircraft carrying the coffins to fly on Saturday (April 10) after receiving a ransom.
On Sunday evening (April 11), the armed criminals again conducted their campaigns of violence by setting ablaze nine classrooms of the Beoga public junior high school.
In response to the deadly assaults on the two teachers, House of Representatives (DPR) Deputy Speaker Azis Syamsuddin noted that the armed Papuan criminals were terrorists.
"Almost every year, armed criminal groups conduct their acts of terror against civilians in Papua," Syamsuddin noted in a statement.
However, Indonesian security personnel, stationed in the province, are still slow in tracing and cracking down on the perpetrators behind the acts of terror.
The armed criminals' deadly assaults on the ill-fated teachers were indeed acts of terrorism, he noted, adding that he extended his deep condolences over their deaths.
The stationed Indonesian military and police personnel should be able to create a sense of security and dispel fear of the armed criminals' acts of terror from the minds of people at large.
"To this end, with a sufficient number of personnel, the military and police must continue to secure all neighborhood areas. Do not allow civilians to again fall victim," he remarked.
Syamsuddin also urged all related parties in the country to seek a comprehensive solution to Papua's problems, so that locals can gain perpetual peace and prosperity.
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