Papua provincial government secretary Dance Yulian Flassy. (ANTARA/Hendrina Dian Kandipi) - 

In the wake of PT Telkom’s undersea cable break, the Papua provincial administration has urged all community members to remain calm and not to respond to rumors of sabotage.

"This undersea fiber optic cable breakage, which occurred about 700 kilometers away from the waters of Sarmi district, is a force majeure," the Papua provincial government's secretary, Dance Yulian Flassy, told ANTARA in Jayapura on Saturday.

The cable break has disrupted the telecommunication giant's services in Jayapura city and the districts of Jayapura and Sarmi, but PT Telkom customers in the southern parts of Papua province have not been affected, he informed.

The provincial government’s communication and informatics officials have been discussing the matter and ways to address the impact of the cable breakage with their counterparts at the PT Telkom-Papua Office, Flassy said.

"We hope the telecommunication services remain available ahead of the Idul Fitri festivity, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadhan," he remarked.

He also urged people to remain calm and not to get provoked by rumors surrounding the cable break.

The services offered by state-owned telecommunications enterprise PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) in Jayapura city and the districts of Jayapura and Sarmi have been disrupted since Friday, following the breaking of undersea fiber optic cables located between Sarmi and Biak.

"We apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers," head of the PT Telkom-Papua Office, Sugeng Widodo, said earlier.

The company would require a month’s time to resolve the problem, he added.

The telecommunications major tried to provide partial satellite-based services to affected customers, though they could not be optimally served, he said.

ANTARA has reported on repeated disruptions in telecommunication services in Papua over the past few years.In August, 2019, for instance, telecommunication company Telkomsel's services in Jayapura were disrupted after its main fiber optic cables were cut by unknown persons//ANT