By: George Marore
An unpleasant news came from Surabaya a few days ago. The problem is (allegedly) racist problems. Again racist. Since then, the #ayabukanmasters has become trending on social media. There are many versions that I see from the chaos that occur at this time. According to news published on the Indonesian CNN website, it was suspected that the riot was triggered by the arrival of someone at a Papuan student dormitory in Surabaya. Which he said was in the context of defending the red and white flag that had been damaged and discarded.
But what happened instead? The chaos in Surabaya even had long tails, sparking riots in several areas such as Manokwari, Jayapura, Fak-Fak and other areas in the country. In fact, some of the actions began to touch on the 1962 New York agreement between Indonesia, the Netherlands and the people of Papua. Old wounds began to be scraped back.
This incident can be likened to an advancing ball advancing and ready to hit anything, not only security in the Papua region but also the unity of Indonesia as a whole. The issue of Papua is indeed a very sensitive issue. Not only at this time but since the beginning of independence it has been very sensitive. It would be better if we were more careful to respond to it and not be an empty allegation anyway, if there might be elements – individuals who took part in this riot.
Now, the issue related to Papuan racism has subsided. Although it might not disappear completely, the escalation was not as big as some time ago. For this reason, it is time for the Indonesian people to take care of and even improve the current condition of Indonesia to make it more comfortable to live for all parties. Remember, Indonesia is victorious because it’s different. Difference is one of the uniqueness of the Indonesian people compared to other nations in the world.