Another man killed as new clash erupts in Tanah Abang

Another man killed as new clash erupts in Tanah Abang

JAKARTA (JP): A man was killed Friday in the second fatal
clash in three nights between Jatibaru residents from Kampung
Bali and an unidentified group in Tanah Abang, despite a
settlement between the two parties earlier in the evening.

The 20-year-old victim was identified as Yosephus Yovi Nang,
from Flores, living in Slipi, West Jakarta, by his brother, Didi,
yesterday.

Yosephus died from severe stab wounds to his body and head,
Didi said.

The fatality in the previous clash was identified yesterday as
22-year-old Clasio Lopez, an East Timorese.

The unrest erupted Wednesday night after Kampung Bali
residents heard rumors that an East Timorese, who helped
extinguish a fire which gutted their houses Wednesday afternoon,
had stolen some of their possessions.

Didi said that whoever attacked and killed his brother had
mistakenly thought that Yosephus was an East Timorese.

"He's just a M11 minivan driver, plying the route between
Tanah Abang and Kebon Jeruk. We're from Flores. We physically
resemble East Timorese," he said.

"I don't know what happened to my brother, he's neither a
criminal nor a hoodlum," he said. Police also declined to reveal
what really happened to him.

Yosephus' body was only sent by the Tanah Abang police
subprecinct to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central
Jakarta at 1:15 a.m. yesterday, a source at the morgue said.

Earlier it was reported that Hercules R. Marcal, an East
Timorese youth leader in Tanah Abang, denied the unidentified
victim of the first clash was one of his subordinates.

However, he, accompanied by his subordinates and guarded by
policemen and army personnel, identified the unclaimed victim as
Clasio Lopez yesterday.

He also refused to give approval for an autopsy proposed by
the Tanah Abang police subprecinct.

A high-ranking Jakarta Military Command officer said yesterday
that Tanah Abang had been calm since Saturday and denied that
clashes in the area had caused two fatalities.

He said that the two fatalities were merely victims of
ordinary crimes.

"It just happened that they were killed in the area (Tanah
Abang), and so became the press' spotlight," he said.

Brig. Gen. Masni Harun, chief of the command's intelligence
unit, urged the press not to exaggerate what happened in Tanah
Abang.

He said that the public should not form opinions of the Tanah
Abang clashes and the East Timorese issue from subjective media
coverage.

"I know that the media has tried to report the truth about
what's happening, but I think enough is enough. Tanah Abang is
now under control," he said, adding that the issue could easily
be related to other, bigger, issues.

Masni said that the municipality had already taken stern
action to prevent further clashes by cleaning up some
prostitution spots in the area late yesterday, following an
agreement between Hercules, religious leaders and Kampung Bali
youths.

However, Masni admitted that Tanah Abang and its environs were
prone to political and criminal activities.

He said that there were people who wanted to benefit from the
clashes by using the East Timorese issue.

Three hundred troops from the Jakarta Military Command and 100
police officers have been deployed to control the area. (04)