Fishermen shot dead in Sumba

Yacob Herin, The Jakarta Post, Maumere, Flores

Police officers from East Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara shot dead four fishermen from Ende island who were using explosives when fishing in Sumba waters.

Ende district police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Mamboyng confirmed on Tuesday the incident, saying five other fishermen were arrested.

They are being interrogated by local police, he told The Jakarta Post.

East Nusa Tenggara Provincial Police chief Brig. Gen. Jacki Uly told the press here on Tuesday that the incident occurred last week when a team of police officers were conducting an operation to crack down the rampant use of dynamite for fishing in local waters.

"When the police officers approached them and instructed them to allow their three vessels to be searched, they resisted and tried to attack the officers," he was quoted by Antara as saying, adding that the officers then had no choice but to fire on the fishermen, killing four of them.

According to Jacki, the police had launched the operation after receiving tip-offs from the local administration and residents that a group of about 20 fishermen using three boats had frequently been fishing in the area using dynamite.

He said that the incident on March 14 had just been reported by the East Sumba subprecinct to the provincial police in Kupang.

"The local administration and the residents have been very concerned over the fishermen's actions, which was damaging coral reefs and other marine species in the area. They have been doing it for a long time," he noted.

Uly said that after the shooting, one of the boats stopped while the other two escaped.

The police officers boarded and searched the vessel, named the Nostalgia and found the bodies of Djafar Husein, 45, and Djamaludin Husein, 30, who had apparently been shot by the police during the incident. Five of the vessel's other fishermen, one of them an escaped convict, were taken to East Sumba Police subprecinct for questioning.

The police also found a compressor, three bombs to be used in fishing, two plastic bags containing ammunition, and a ton of fish on the boat.

Ende Police subprecinct managed to arrest the other two boats at Ende island two days after the incident. They then found the bodies of Marden Abdulrachman Bie, 41, and Musa Muhamad, 35, who were shot by the police in the incident two days before.

Uly said that the police action was in line with standard procedures as the fishermen had tried to obstruct the officers in the performance of their duty.