REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAYAPURA -- Coordinating Minister for Politics, Justice and Security Affairs Tedjo Edy Purdijatno does not believe that the impact of the Tolikara incident would spread throughout the country.
"We do not want this conflict to spread every where. The conflict is not about religion," Tedjo Edy Purdijatno said here on Friday.
Purdijatno inspected the condition in Tolikara after a riot that occurred on Friday.
"I discussed the Tolikara incident with the Papua Police chief and Cenderawasih XVII Military Commander. Because there are some people who connect the Tolikara incident with religion," he said.
In addition, there were mass media and social media reports which blew up the Tolikara incident.
Therefore, he noted, the ministry conducted visits to some regions, saying it is helpful to understand the source of potential conflicts.
Earlier, the situation in Papua had been described as peaceful and improving after a riot that occurred in Tolikara district on Friday, according to Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
"It is peaceful, and the government and the president have ordered reconstruction," he stated, when asked to comment on the developments in the case here on Thursday.
He remarked that law enforcement agencies will continue to investigate the incident.
"Who is guilty (and) who has done this must be punished in accordance with the law," he remarked.
The vice president stated that the separatism issue had no effect on the people in Papua and West Papua.
"It is common for dissatisfaction to surface and for some people to make an issue out of it. It has, indeed, always emerged, but it did not affect the people there," he said.
Tolikara District Head Usman Wanimbo stated that economic and other activities of the people in the district had returned to normal.
He noted that the people, whose houses had been burnt down, were still living in tents in the yard at the district military station.
Ten victims who were wounded in the incident are still being treated at local hospitals, and the cost of their treatment will be borne by the regional government.
A group of people believed to be members of the Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GIDI) went to Baitul Mustaqin Mosque in Tolikara when Muslims were performing Eid prayers on Friday. They protested against the use of a loudspeaker during the prayer service, stating that it was disturbing an event that their church was holding at the same time.
According to the Chairman of the Communion of Evangelical Churches and Institutions in Indonesia, Roni Mandang, chaos broke out after police officers fired shots at them, which led to the torching of kiosks. Flames from these fires spread to an Islamic house of prayer. It was also reported that a person had been shot dead.
Moreover, Spokesman for the Public Information Division of the National Police Senior Commissioner Suharsono stated that police had opened fire to control the rioting mob and to keep them away from the mosque.
It was later confirmed that one person was killed and 11 others wounded during the incident.
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