JAYAPURA: Indonesia’s Papua plunged into chaos again on Thursday as angry protesters torched buildings in its capital after nearly two weeks of riots and demonstrations in the easternmost province of the archipelago.

More than a thousand demonstrators marched around Jayapura hurling stones and setting fire to shops and an assembly building following a deadly clash in another part of the jungle-clad province, which shares the island with independent Papua New Guinea.

Carrying placards bearing the image of a banned flag, many called for independence from Indonesian rule and an end to racism against the minority group. Papuans are ethnic Melanesians and have few cultural ties with the rest of Indonesia. State power company PLN said the violence forced it to cut electricity in parts of Jayapura, a city of about 300,000 people. “Several public facilities and buildings were damaged by the rioters,” said National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo. “Security forces are still trying to control the situation,” he added.

The protest comes a day after violence flared in remote Deiyai, where a clash between protesters and Indonesian security forces left at least one soldier and two demonstrators dead, according to officials.

The confrontation sparked reports that Indonesia’s military — long accused of committing rights abuses against Papuans during a decades-old separatist insurgency — had gunned down six protesters. Authorities denied that claim and said they were attacked by hundreds of Papuans armed with machetes and traditional bows-and-arrows.

Riots and demonstrations have broken out in Papua since mid-August with buildings torched and street battles between police and protesters.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2019