Bomb rocks Central Sulawesi Police Headquarters
Bomb rocks Central Sulawesi Police Headquarters
PALU, Central Sulawesi (JP): A blast hit Central Sulawesi
Police Headquarters in the provincial capital of Palu on Tuesday,
forcing dozens of officers to evacuate the building in panic.
No fatalities were reported in the incident, which occurred at
about 11:45 a.m. at the same time that dozens of refugees from
Poso were outside the provincial police headquarters protesting
against the police's inability to resolve the prolonged conflict
in their hometown, some 220 kilometers east of here.
Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Agus Sugianto
said the explosion was caused by a homemade bomb in the front
yard of the police headquarters.
The refugees told provincial police deputy chief Sr. Comr.
Taufik Ridha that they demanded a Christian leader and that
police officers be arrested for their alleged role in the Poso
communal conflicts, which have been ongoing for the past 42
months and claimed hundreds of lives.
Taufik declined the protesters' request to visit four people
who were arrested last week in possession of thousands of rounds
of ammunition, but allowed the Poso people to see the suspects
behind a glass screen.
Some of the protesters refused to queue up and ran behind the
building to take a closer look at the four suspects from the back
door. By that time the bomb had exploded.
Taufik quickly ordered a search of the protesters but officers
had to chase some of the refugees who were afraid of being
searched.
At least two people, who were not protesters, were injured
when police opened fire and used force to prevent the refugees
from escaping the search. A local resident, identified as Ahmad,
21, was admitted to Undata Hospital to have a bullet removed from
his waist.
Police apprehended some 50 people and confiscated two pistols
along with eight bullets.
Coordinator of the rally, Lili, denied allegations that the
bomb and weapons were possessed by the protesting refugees.
"There must be some infiltrators in our group," he said.
Another Poso figure, Rizal, insisted that nobody participating
in the rally was armed.
"We are not going into a battlefield. We just want to air our
aspirations," Rizal said.
Dozens of police continued to search the refugee camp in the
Indonesian Youth Committee building, some four kilometers from
the police headquarters. The move ignored Taufik's statement that
no further measures against the refugees were necessary.
At least six refugees were injured from beatings they received
when resisting police actions and at least 15 people were
questioned following the clash.
A local legislative councillor, Yus Mangun, condemned the
attack and said he would report the incident to President
Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is scheduled to visit Palu on Friday.
(25)