Angry protesters seal governor's residence

Angry protesters seal governor's residence

Yuliansyah, The Jakarta Post, Banjarmasin

Angered by the fact that South Kalimantan Governor H.M. Sjachriel
had ignored their demands for him to leave his official
residence, dozens of people, grouped in the People's Suffering
Action Forum (Kapera), sealed off the governor's official
residence on Tuesday.

They halted many of the daily activities at the house as
protesters closed off the entrance gate using a giant 300-meter
long banner.

Before surrounding the residence located at Jl. Sudirman No.
1, Banjarmasin, the demonstrators made speeches deploring the
corrupt practices by the governor in front of the compound, and
demanding the governor to immediately leave the official
residence.

After Sjachriel ignored their demands, the protesters, wearing
red-colored battle fatigues and head bands, pushed their way to
the entrance of the house but were prevented by police and
security guards who had formed a human shield.

The protesters also demanded that Sjachriel and his family
meet them as part of their moral responsibility.

On Monday, protesters stormed the governor's office demanding
that the governor, who was voted out of office on Aug. 21,
abandon his office without waiting for the decision of the home
affairs ministry.

Sjachriel has been under fire from various groups for
widespread allegations of corruption. He was technically voted
out of office by the South Kalimantan legislature on Aug. 21,
2002 after protesters occupied the council building and
threatened to stay if the local councillors did nothing about the
corruption allegations.

Governor Sjachriel, a member of PPP, however, vowed to hold on
to his office until President Megawati Soekarnoputri gave her
approval of the council's move.

Tuesday's blockade of the residence lasted for around two
hours before the demonstrators got tired and dispersed peacefully
to continue their protest by parading around the city.

Separately, Chief of the Antasari Military Regional Command
Col. Suadrmaidy aired his concerns over the heated political
tension in the province and feared violence could erupt between
the anti-governor camp and the supporters of governor Sjachriel.

"I've received reports that the groups will stage simultaneous
demonstrations. We will watch out for their movements to avoid
clashes," Suadrmaidy said.

While the local political squabble continued, a man,
identified later as Frans Moemoek, claiming to be an official
from the home affairs ministry, but suspicions quickly arose when
it was discovered that he was not registered with the ministry.

According to several sources, Frans claimed that he was
assigned from the Ministry of Home Affairs to obtain facts about
the dismissal of Sjachriel and his deputy Husin Kasah from their
respective positions.

Suspicious of the man's claim, speaker of the South Kalimantan
Council Mansyah appealed to his colleagues not to say anything to
the man, saying he was not registered as an official at the
ministry after a quick check.

The ministry itself has announced that a team, led by the
regional autonomy director general Oentarto, to investigate the
governor's dismissal was sent to Banjarmasin.

On Monday, the eight-man team arrived and started working,
collecting information from related parties.

"We cannot say when we will complete our task, it will last
until we have enough information, then we will submit it to the
Minister of Home Affairs," Oentarto said.