The on-going riots in Papua, Indonesia keep escalating. Accordingly, this unrest event has been significantly affecting not only politics and national stability, but also the economy.
The riots in Papua have occurred for more than a week and this continues. To date, Indonesian government has lowered the Internet speed in the respective areas due to the riots.
According to the government, this is an attempt to prevent the distribution of hoaxes as the government is trying to put the situation under control.
“Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has decided to temporarily block the telecommunication services starting from Wednesday until the situation becomes conducive and normal,” said one of the officials of the ministry, Ferdinandus Setu.
In contrast, Indonesia’s Ombudsman thinks that this hoax prevention disturbs economic activity. “I have read that some people were complaining (about the Internet blackout) on Twitter and this is too much. Economic activities are hindered,” state a commissioner of Indonesian Ombudsman, Alvin Lie to the local news, Tirto.
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Riots in Papua
The riots in Papua began on August 19, 2019. The trigger was the racial discrimination acts to Papuan students in Surabaya and Malang, two largest cities in East Java, Indonesia.
During the ‘abuse’ in Surabaya, there were groups of NGOs, polices, and national armies who stormed the Papuan students’ dormitory. The allegation was about the fallen Indonesian flag in front of the dorm.
In response to such act, the Papuans were so mad. Recently, they burned down local government building of Manokwari, the provincial capital of West Papua, Indonesia.
Currently, the protests are continuous. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has asked the Papuans to be patient and remain calm as the government will process the true convicts.
Recently, the court has determined some convicts of the case. The military also will also conduct its own court to the participating members.
If this event kept going, some parties were afraid that this would threaten President Jokowi’s new vision for Indonesia and, specifically, Papua. In the latest years, the government is currently constructing Trans-Papua. The infrastructure is to connect cities in Papua and reach previously unreachable regions accordingly.
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