Jayapura, Jubi – The people in Baya Biru District, Paniai Regency, Central Papua Province reject the plan to build a police station in the area. Resident representative Noak Tagi said the entire Baya Biru community firmly rejected the construction.
“We have lived safely and comfortably for a long time without police or police stations. We are very worried that the presence of the police will make our area uncomfortable,” said Noak Tagi when contacting Jubi on Monday, January 2, 2023.
Noak said there were several important reasons the community reject the presence of a police station in Baya Biru.
According to him, Baya Biru is located in the largest illegal gold mining area in the Meepago region, which has been ignored by the Paniai administration. The Baya Biru community is still disappointed and traumatized by the shooting of six residents by mobile brigade officers in 2014, which resulted in the death of Melianus Abah and five others injured in Ndeotadi Village.
“Therefore, we believe that the police have a certain interest in the gold mining area. They don’t build a post here for the sake of protecting and protecting the community of Baya Biru,” he said.
Meanwhile, the representative of the local tribal chief, Alex Makipa, said that even though the police had discussed the plan with a group of tribal chiefs, it still did not involve all parties including the tribal chief in the districts, therefore the meeting was invalid.
“Therefore we reject the plan. Yahya Kegepe, a representative of the village government; Yafet Piame, a representative of traditional leaders; as well as Pius Kegepe, a youth leader, also said the same thing,” he said.
Taking into account these points, he said, the local community urged the Paniai administration and the Paniai Regent, Meki Nawipa, as well as Paniai Police chief Comr. Abdus Syukur Felani to immediately revoke and withdraw the plan to establish a police station in the Baya Biru district. (*)
