The 2019 Papua protests are a series of protests by Papuans in Indonesia that began on 19 August 2019 and mainly took place across Indonesian Papua region in response to the arrests of 43 Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java for alleged disrespect of the Indonesian flag. Many of the protests involved thousands of participants, and some grew from local protests in Surabaya to demanding an independence referendum for the whole region. In several locations, the protests turned into general riots, resulting in the destruction of government buildings in Wamena, Sorong and Jayapura. Clashes between protesters and police resulted in injuries, with over 30 people killed from both the clashes and the rioting.