2019 Papua protests

2019 Papua protests
2019 Papua protests
Part of the Papua conflict
	Protesters marching in Sarmi Regency
Date	19 August 2019 – 23 September 2019; (1 month and 4 days)
Location	Various cities and towns across Papua and West Papua provinces, smaller rallies across other Indonesian cities
Caused by	Papuan independence movement; ; Racist incident in Surabaya;
Goals	Papuan Independence
Status	Internet in Papua shut down by Indonesian authorities; Indonesian government rejects calls for independence referendum; Protests suppressed by Indonesian Indonesian police and military;
Parties
Free Papua Movement; Pro-independence Papuans	Indonesia Indonesian Police; Indonesian Army; Pancasila Youth; Pro-Indonesia Papuans
Lead figures
	Benny Wenda Joko Widodo
Casualties and losses
	2 dead
	31–33 dead; hundreds injured

The 2019 Papua protests were a series of protests by Papuans in Indonesia that began on 19 August 2019 and mainly took place across Indonesian Papua region in response to the arrests of 43 Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java for alleged disrespect of the Indonesian flag. Many of the protests involved thousands of participants, and some grew from local protests in Surabaya to demanding an independence referendum for the whole region. In several locations, the protests turned into general riots, resulting in the destruction of government buildings in Wamena, Sorong and Jayapura. Clashes between protesters and police resulted in injuries, with over 30 people killed from both the clashes and the rioting.

In response to the rioting, the government of Indonesia implemented an internet blackout in the region. A Reuters reporter from the Jakarta bureau described the unrest as "Papua's most serious in years".

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