The Papua Legislative Council’s speaker, Yunus Wonda – Jubi
Jayapura, Jubi – The speaker of the Papua Legislative Council urged officials in Jakarta not just dwell on on the Tolikara incident, but to also talk about shooting incidents that have claimed many lives in Papua.
Speaker Yunus Wonda said after the incident in Tolikara, the Indonesian Police Chief, Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Social Affairs came to the scene.
He said he hoped central government officials would treat every act of violence equally.
“I hope the central officials would come to see and find solutions to those cases. The lives of Papuans are also precious on this land. No one has the right to take their lives. Only God can. We want no more provocative comments related to the Tolikara incident. Why do they only care about that incident? Why do they not care about the Paniai case even though it’s about human lives?” Wonda said last week.
According to him, the musholla that burned in Tolikara incident could rebuild but how about Papuans whose lives were taken as shooting victims? He said Tolikara incident became a lesson to keep the harmony among inter-religious communities in Papua since decades up to now.
‘We hope people outside of Papua do not discredit Papuans because of it. Do not talk about what was happening in Tolikara without knowing the reality. Instead of burning incident, there’s also the shooting incident. We want the police to reveal the perpetrators,” he said.
Wonda said based on the information from many parties in Tolikara, the shooting incident caused a tense because people in the highland area have traumatic experience with the gun’s fire.
“There’s no intention to burn the mushola. Do not make as if it was burned intentionally. Mushola was already there even Tolikara was a sub-district,” he said. (Arjuna Pademme/rom)
