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)