Jayapura, October 23, 2025 \u2014 Prominent Papuan Muslim figure Thaha Al Hamid has voiced his concern over the recent burning of Bird-of-Paradise headdresses carried out by the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) of Papua. The incident has sparked strong protests among Indigenous communities and student groups across Papua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his statement, Thaha criticized the burning of the headdresses as an inappropriate response to wildlife conservation efforts. He emphasized that authorities should focus on addressing the root causes of wildlife trade rather than resorting to destruction of seized items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBurning Bird-of-Paradise headdresses is not a solution. It should not be done \u2014 it\u2019s wrong,\u201d Thaha said in Jayapura on Thursday. \u201cConfiscation is fine, but it must be followed by an investigation into who sells and makes these items. Don\u2019t stop at the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thaha also urged local governments to ban the use of Bird-of-Paradise headdresses in official ceremonies, including welcoming events for guests, calling such practices outdated and inappropriate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSpeak with the governor and stop the custom of wearing Bird-of-Paradise headdresses. It\u2019s no longer appropriate and should end,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responding to ongoing student demonstrations, Thaha said that public protest is a legitimate expression of concern but must be accompanied by constructive solutions. He offered to hold open discussions with students to identify the deeper issues behind the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDemonstrations are fine as an expression of concern, but they shouldn\u2019t end there. After protesting, let\u2019s sit together, discuss, and find solutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thaha pointed out that the root of the problem lies in structural poverty affecting many Papuans, which drives some to capture and sell Bird-of-Paradise specimens for income. He called for community empowerment and education programs instead of punitive measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis issue exists because of poverty. The solution is not to burn the confiscated goods, but to empower communities so they no longer depend on selling Bird-of-Paradise,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concluding his remarks, Thaha appealed to all parties \u2014 particularly students and conservation authorities \u2014 to work together peacefully in finding sustainable solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m open to dialogue with the students. Let\u2019s reflect together and resolve this issue through peaceful and lasting means,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jayapura, October 23, 2025 \u2014 Prominent Papuan Muslim figure Thaha Al Hamid has voiced his concern over the recent burning of Bird-of-Paradise headdresses carried out by the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) of Papua. The incident has sparked strong protests among Indigenous communities and student groups across Papua. In his statement, Thaha criticized the burning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32706,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6854],"tags":[8279],"class_list":["post-32708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headline-news","tag-papuan-muslim-leader-thaha-al-hamid-urges-calm-and-dialogue-after-burning-of-bird-of-paradise-headdresses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32708"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32709,"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32708\/revisions\/32709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suaranewspapua.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}