Indonesian president Joko Widodo during a visit to Jayapura in Papua. (file photo from shutterstock.com photo)
By Mathias Hariyadi
Oct 7 2021
The National Games seemed to have put aside the image of the volatile situation in Papua
A national sports event in Indonesia’s Papua province this week brought respite to a territory that has been plagued by a separatist insurgency in recents years.
The National Games, which runs until October 15 in the provincial capital Jayapura, is held once every four years and was scheduled to take place in 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic.
“ has become a real and great blessing for Papuans,” said Franciscan priest Hieronymus Lebi, a native of Papua.
He said it is the first time that Papua has been selected to host the National Games that is attended by thousands of people from Indonesia’s 34 provinces.
“It is an experience of unexpected things, a great blessing for the Papuan,” he said, adding in jest that only in Papua can an ordinary citizen stop a motorcade of the president.
Papua won the right to host the games in 2014, outbidding Bali and Aceh provinces. A total of 7,039 athletes and officials are expected to be part of this year’s games.
Papua and West Papua are two provinces in the easternmost territory of Indonesia that have been witness to years of violence brought about by an armed separatist insurgency and tribal conflicts.
Read more in – LiCAS.News
