Police point to officials' hand in recent unrest<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The authorities have revealed that government
\nofficials and legislators may have been involved in recent unrest
\nin various parts of the country.<\/p>\n
Police said on Thursday that officials may have incited crowds
\ninto burning mosques and other public facilities in Kupang, East
\nNusa Tenggara, while an Air Force colonel might lose the office
\nof regent which he holds following his failure to contain tribal
\nviolence that killed 27 in West Sumba, West Nusa Tenggara. Both
\nincidents took place in November.<\/p>\n
Separately, in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, police
\ndisclosed that they were questioning someone in connection with
\ninstigating the bloody incident in Poso regency last month and
\nsaid that a senior regency administration official might also be
\nimplicated.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that East Nusa Tenggara Police spokesman Maj.
\nSismantoro alleged that certain provincial officials helped to
\nincite angry mobs into damaging and setting fire to mosques,
\ngovernment offices and houses in Kupang.<\/p>\n
Demonstrators in the predominantly Christian city burned and
\nvandalized mosques, houses, shops and several Islamic schools on
\nNov. 30.<\/p>\n
He said that police had handed over 29 dossiers containing
\ndetails of 52 suspects to the provincial prosecutor's office.<\/p>\n
\"We have identified the alleged agents provocateurs,\"
\nSismantoro said without elaborating.<\/p>\n
He dismissed an earlier statement by the Udayana Military
\nCommander, Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, who said that people from
\noutside of the province were involved in the unrest. The military
\ncommand oversees East Nusa Tenggara, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
\"In general, we have arrested only local citizens,\" Sismantoro
\nnoted.<\/p>\n
The violence in Kupang was reportedly in retaliation for the
\nburning of several churches and a Catholic school during an
\nincident in West Jakarta the week before.<\/p>\n
From Kupang, Antara quoted an East Nusa Tenggara official as
\nsaying on Thursday that Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri had approved the
\ndismissal of Col. Rudolf Malo, for his failure to stop violence
\nthat claimed 27 lives in Waikabubak, the capital of West Sumba,
\ntwo months ago. Rudolf is the Waikabubak regent.<\/p>\n
The incident involved the Wewewa and Loli tribes and erupted
\nafter the Loli accused Rudolf of favoring the Wewewa people
\nduring a recent intake of new civil servants for the regency.<\/p>\n
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet Tallo was reportedly angered
\nto hear that Rudolf disappeared after the unrest erupted.<\/p>\n
Separately on Thursday, Central Sulawesi Governor H.B.
\nPaliudju vowed to sack Poso Regency Secretary Ida Yahya Patiro if
\nevidence showed that Ida was involved in the riot which erupted
\nin Poso over Christmas.<\/p>\n
In South Sulawesi, Jeneponto Police chief Lt. Col. Alimuddin
\nNur announced on Wednesday that five councilors from the Golkar
\nfaction were suspected of an involvement in a fire which raged
\nthrough the legislative council building on Christmas eve. There
\nare a further 19 suspects in the investigation.<\/p>\n
Alimuddin said the five legislators would be questioned as
\nsoon as South Sulawesi Governor H.Z.B. Palaguna gave his
\napproval, as required by the law.<\/p>\n
He alleged that the five men were dissatisfied with the
\nelection of Baharuddin Baso Tika as regent and had also incited
\nothers into rejecting him as their leader.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Cilacap, Central Java, thousands of angry
\nresidents of Bulaksari village ransacked six houses owned by
\nvillage leaders on Tuesday night after failing to recover Rp 50
\nmillion collected from them by a former village chief.<\/p>\n
The object of the villagers' wrath, Husen, refused to return
\nthe money and challenged the villagers to take him to court.
\n(prb\/45)<\/p>",
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