Biak Numfor District Head Herry Ario Naap urged his residents on Sunday to keep maintaining peace, law, and order in community ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday which marks the end of Muslims’ holy month of Ramadan.
“Biak is widely known as the most peaceful and secure district in Papua Province. Let us keep the condition conducive,” he told local journalists here Sunday.
Naap said he highly appreciates all residents of Biak Numfor District for their participation in and support for maintaining peace, law, and order in community.
“The Biak Numfor residents are also appealed to show their interfaith solidarity for Muslims who still perform the fasting month of Ramadan, and will later celebrate the Eid al-Fitr,” he added.
Meanwhile, Biak Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Adi Tri Widiyanto said the district’s situation remains conducive ahead of the Eid celebration in May.
“Let us maintain Biak’s peaceful, secure, and conducive condition ahead of the Eid celebration,” he said.
During his recent visit to Biak, Papua Police Chief Insp.Gen.Mathius D. Fakhiri pledged to deploy special units of police personnel to safeguard the upcoming Eid al-Fitr prayers to be performed across the province.
“Muslim communities are welcomed to perform mass Eid prayers in their respective neighborhood areas by complying with the government’s health protocols,” he said.
Fakhiri said the government had permitted mass Eid prayers to be conducted, as they are part of the important activities for Muslims celebrating Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
To this end, the Papua police will help safeguard places used for holding the mass Eid prayers, he remarked.
“Every police precinct will deploy a special unit of personnel to secure and safeguard places used for holding the mass Eid prayers,” he added.
Over the past few years, armed Papuan groups have often employed hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel and mounted acts of terror against civilians in several districts, such as Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak, o instill fear among the people.
Intan Jaya recorded its bloodiest month in September 2020 when armed groups launched a series of attacks in the area that claimed the lives of two soldiers and two civilians and left two others injured.
On September 17, 2020, for instance, Papuan rebels tortured and killed a 49-year-old Ojek motorcycle taxi driver, identified as Badawi.
On September 13, 2020, armed separatists opened fire at two Ojek drivers in the Sugapa area, but the drivers managed to survive the attack.
The acts of terror have continued this year.
On March 2, 2022, several members of an armed Papuan group operating in Beoga Sub-district, Puncak District, killed eight Palaparing Timur Telematika (PTT) workers, who were repairing a base transceiver station (BTS) tower belonging to state-owned telecommunications operator Telkomsel.
Source: Antara News