By: Sabby Kosay )*
Indonesia mourns the death of 31 people due to the riots in Wamena, President Joko Widodo expressed sorrow over the incident and said the commitment of the security forces to be ready to protect citizens.
Jokowi also requested that the riots in Wamena not be related to inter-ethnic sentiment. Jokowi said the riots were caused by the Armed Criminal Group (KKB).
The former Surakarta mayor said that in order for the conflict not to be shifted into an ethnic conflict, the conflict was caused by the KKB who went down the mountain and set fire to the houses of residents. several suspects of arson and murder in Wamena.
For this heartbreaking incident, the police have set 5 suspects. The majority of the suspects came from outside Wamena, but also mingled with perpetrators from outside Wamena.
Of the 31 people, 5 of them were recorded dead at the hospital, while 26 others died before being rushed to the hospital. While the other 2 victims have indeed been found dead, but not because of the riots, but because they have been sick before, said Minister of Health Nila Moeloek.
Of the total fatalities, one of them was a doctor named Dr. Soeko Marsetiyo. Where he has served more or less 15 years in Papua. When the riots broke out, Soeko also helped care for the victims of the riots there.
In addition to casualties, the Wamena riot also left 98 other residents injured. Of these 14 of them are still undergoing treatment in Wamena, 22 have been referred to Jayapura, while 62 other residents have been treated and returned safely.
The riots also caused thousands of residents to flee to Jayapura. Until Monday night, the wave of refugees from Wamena to Jayapura via the Silas Papare air base had reached 5,588 people.
Commander of the Lanas Silas Papare Marsma TNI Tri Bowo Budi Santoso said it was using two Hercules aircraft with a total of 7 flights.
The riots that occurred in Wamena began with demonstrations by students at various schools since 23 September 2019. Nahasnya, demonstrations led to rioting to the burning of houses, government offices, PLN and a number of community-owned kiosks.
In addition to causing casualties, the incident also resulted in casualties and also material losses which until now the amount has not been estimated.
During the incident there was also a clash between armed forces between the TNI – Polri apparatus and the Armed Criminal Group (KKB). The armed group is thought to have come from Lanny Jaya Regency.
The demonstration was triggered by news that spread on social media, which mentioned the racial saying of a teacher to his students. But according to the police, the information is hoax or hoax news.
Papua Regional Police Chief Inspector General Rudolf A Rodja ensured that the reason the masses carried out anarchistic actions in Wamena was because they were consumed by hoaks. He has also confirmed the issue and confirmed that the news is not true.
From the results of intelligence investigations and analyzes about the statements of the school, the principal and the teacher concerned, there was no expression of racism as reported.
The Directorate of Criminal Acts Siber Bareskrim Polri is also in the midst of exploring the accounts of hoaks that are suspected to have triggered riots.
However, security forces continue to take a soft approach to the public.
Officials together with local government, traditional leaders, religious leaders, appealed to the community not to be provoked by hoaks. This will be your own learning that misleading news is something that is very dangerous.
To deal with the problems in Wamena, the Ministry of Social Affairs is channeling aid worth Rp. 3.89 billion for victims of social unrest in Wamena, Papua. The victim died, the Ministry of Social Affairs provided compensation to the heirs in the amount of Rp. 15 million per person.
Now we know the real threat caused by hoaxes, in fact there are still groups of people who want to break the sense of unity, racial issues are exhaled. We have a share in not being easily provoked and not sharing racial content on social media.
)* The writer is a Papuan student, living in Yogyakarta