By: Jeremiah Kogoya )*
Wamena’s situation after the riots a few weeks ago began to return to normal. The pulse of people’s lives began to be felt as several shops and markets began to open.
Kapendam XVII / Cenderawasih Lt. Col. Cpl Eko Daryanto said residents who were still displaced in 34 posts, and still had a place to live, were expected to return home. Because the situation and conditions in Wamena are now beginning to be conducive and the economy is returning to normal after the anarchist riots on Monday (9/23).
Papua Regional Police Chief (Kapolda) Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw also requested that the refugees be able to return to their homes in Wamena, the capital city of Jayawijaya Regency. Paulus ensured that security conditions in Wamena had begun to be conducive.
Paulus also understood that the Wamena riot had caused fears and fears that encouraged residents to flee to places that were considered safer. But Paulus requested that residents not be afraid of excess to be able to return to Wamena after the conducive situation.
He also appealed to the people of Wamena, so as not to drag on the fear and prolonged trauma because the security forces are ready to secure residents from various kinds of interference that might occur.
The former North Sumatra Police Chief reiterated that Wamena’s security conditions that Wamena’s security conditions had begun to be conducive.
The return of the conducive situation in the community was marked by a number of businesses and traditional markets began to re-open. In fact, Wouma Market and Irian Street in downtown Wamena look normal. Buying and selling activities are proceeding as usual. For this reason refugees who still have a house can return home and do their activities as usual.
Officials together with the local government, traditional and religious leaders, also appealed to the community not to be provoked by the hoaks on social media. This will certainly be a lesson for us, that misleading news is something that is very dangerous. Especially after the riots in Wamena.
To deal with the problems in Wamena, the Ministry of Social Affairs has channeled assistance 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.
President Jokowi said that the rioters were armed criminal groups who had often attacked TNI / Polri officials in Papua.
Therefore, the President also stressed that the riots that occurred in Papua were not caused by ethnic conflict, but by the actions of armed criminal groups.
The President also said, no one should shift into ethnic conflicts, because that is not the case. Because the real problem is armed criminal groups who go down the mountain and do arson – burning people’s homes.
With an increasingly conducive atmosphere, the former Governor of Jakarta also appealed to residents of Wamena not to exodus outside the area. He said the security forces had been able to secure the situation.
Meanwhile, Muhammadiyah Central Chairman Haedar Nashir, requested that people throughout Indonesia not oppose or issue statements that could make the situation heavier and not conducive.
Through his Twitter account, Haedar prayed that Indonesia would always be given peace and a way out to resolve all the problems being faced.
The conduciveness in Wamena can be seen in the buying and selling activities in the market which is the center of community activities on Jalan Irian, Wamena, which turned out to have been crowded by traders selling various basic needs.
On Jalan Trikora, the vehicles of employees and workers are already crowded to the place where they work.
Although there are still displaced people in a number of places, such as the Jayawijaya Police Station and TNI-owned facilities in Wamena, but the resurgence of trading activities seems to indicate that security and conduciveness in Wamena is gradually returning to normal.
The recovery of the city of Wamena, both in economic and social terms, is expected to proceed quickly.
This was not only based on the fact that previously in Wamena there had never been a horizontal conflict because between indigenous people and migrants had lived together for more than 20 years, but also the people in the city were working to increase economic growth in the last three years.
Including the trade in staples which contributed the second largest, 16.5% to the economy of Wamena, after the transportation and warehousing sector which accounted for 18.7%.
We should maintain this conduciveness and we appreciate it, we must also be more careful when receiving racially charged news or content, because of course we do not want this nation to get hurt.
)* The writer is a Papuan student, living in Jakarta