Police and Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officers escort Governor of Papua Lukas Enembe for medical check up at the Army hospital in Jakarta on January 10, 2023, following his arrest for an alleged bribery case of infrastructure development. Photo: JENAYA/AFP
Thousands of Papuans gathered in Jayapura, the Indonesian province of Papua, to mourn one of its leaders, Lukas Enembe.
The former governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe, died in a military hospital in Jakarta on December 26, 2023.
His coffin arrived at Jayapura airport on Thursday, local time.
Thousands of Papuans greeted his body at the airport and refused to allow it to be carried by an ambulance, instead, they carried his coffin to his final resting place, 55km away, singing, dancing, and chanting Free Papua.
All Jayapura businesses were closed in honour of Enembe, and there are reports that the Indonesian flag was lowered to half-mast.
There are also reports of violence in Jayapura, with one person killed and shops set a light.
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua is calling for two weeks of national mourning in honour of the former governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe.
In January 2023, Enembe was arrested by Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission on charges of bribery.