Two Indonesian provinces are located on the island of New Guinea and border the independent country of Papua New Guinea. Thousands of Papuans took to the streets in several cities this week to protest against viral videos by Indonesian police calling Papuan students "monkeys" and "dogs."
On Wednesday, Indonesian officials said the ongoing power outage was aimed at "accelerating the process of restoring security and order" in the area.
"This is an attempt to curb deception and, most importantly, to prevent people from sharing provocative messages that could incite racial hatred," said Ferdinand Setu, a spokesman for the Ministry of Communications.
The Internet ban includes blocking telecommunications data, but according to Setu, calls and sending text messages should work as usual.
The authorities can lift the blockade "if the situation calms down."
Arson of the prison
Officials have reported several violent incidents since the protests began on Monday. In particular, the protesters are accused of setting fire to a prison in the city of Sorong, which led to a riot, as a result of which more than 250 prisoners were able to escape. They also allegedly set fire to a traditional market, a hotel and other buildings in the port city of Fakfak.
Police arrested 20 people after protests in the central city of Timika, where demonstrators threw stones at the parliament building, as well as houses and shops.
Senior Indonesian officials, including police and military chiefs, visited Sorong on Thursday. Earlier, the police sent 1,200 officers to Papua and West Papua, and the military sent another 300 troops.
Deep distrust
The inhabitants of the Jakarta-administered part of New Guinea are culturally and ethnically different from the majority of Indonesia. The region joined Indonesia after the controversial 1969 poll, and since then the central government has faced a low-intensity separatist movement.
"The current events in Papua cannot be viewed separately from the long-term conflict taking place in the region," Rosita Devi, a researcher specializing in Papua studies at the Jakarta Institute of Indonesian Sciences (LIPI), told DW.
"The people of Papua deeply distrust the central government in Jakarta," she said.
The researcher explained that there are four main sources of conflict: Papua's historical and political status, development failure, social marginalization, and human rights violations. "All these problems must be solved at the same time."
Indonesia's chief security Minister Wiranto, who goes by one name, traveled to Papua late on Wednesday to quell tensions, while President Joko Widodo was also scheduled to visit.
"In the current situation, I consider it necessary to show that the state is present and ready to act," the executive director of the non-governmental organization Setara Institute from Jakarta told DW. "But the government needs to develop a special policy for Papua." Les joueurs modernes recherchent des plateformes généreuses dès le premier jour. En entrant le code promo 1xbet aujourd'hui pendant l’inscription sur 1xBet, vous débloquez un bonus de bienvenue de 100 % jusqu’à 130 € sur les paris ou un pack casino exceptionnel de 1950 € avec 150 free spins. Cette promotion vous offre un avantage immédiat. Bénéficiez d’une navigation fluide, de paiements rapides et d’un support réactif. Idéal pour les amateurs de sport et de jeux de casino.