Jakarta – An alliance of NGOs has condemned Thursday's violence in Jayapura, Papua, but demanded the authorities not exact reprisals for the killing of three policemen and an Air Force officer.

"This has to be handled according to the law and proportionally without the police demanding vengeance," said Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Usman Hamid.

"We urge everyone to act reasonably by not doing things which are unwanted by all," he added, amid concerns of an escalation of violence due to hostility between the public and the security forces.

The NGOs abhorred the actions of security personnel, who conducted sweeps of civilian areas Thursday night to apprehend individuals suspected of being involved in the incident near Cendrawasih State University.

They alleged the police acted indiscriminately in apprehending suspects, and intimidated college students from the central highland areas of Jayapura, Abepura and Sentani.

"If the police don't obey the law, how will the people feel the need to obey the law?" said Center for Democracy and Human Rights (Demos) executive director Asmara Nababan.

Past incidents show that retaliation by security personnel in Papua, including after the 2000 attack on a police station in Abepura in which two policemen and a civilian died, exacerbated the situation and led to human rights violations.

The NGOs also demanded that the military commander and the police chief immediately intervene by withdrawing security personnel members with strong emotional ties with the victims.

To restore order and peace in the area, the NGOs demanded that talks also involve religious and community figures, due to the sociocultural background of the populace.

Nababan implored the police to never forget the presumption of innocence.

The NGOs blamed the incident on the lack of communication between the central government and the Papuan people, saying Jakarta must reopen and intensify dialog with the Papuan people in order to obtain their opinions.

"How come the government can communicate with Aceh, but not with Papua?" said Nababan. "The Papua situation is already like a bundle of dry grass, which will take only a single match to set it ablaze."

The National Commission on Human Rights also urged the Jayapura authorities to immediately apprehend those responsible for the incident without resorting to excessive force, which would lead to further human rights violations in Papua.

"This is because the Papuans have had to suppress their suffering for such a long time due to the government's policies," said Human Rights Watch Group coordinator Rafendi Jamin.