Four more civilians named suspects of Flores attack

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara

Police here said on Tuesday they had named four more suspects charged with involvement in last week's deadly protest that killed four people in Manggarai regency on the eastern island of Flores.

Manggarai Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Wasiran Robert said the four brought the number of suspects to 14 people, all civilian locals.

The police arrested 15 people but released one due to a lack of evidence. They also seized 11 machetes, six sarongs and 20 pieces of ludung wood, which are believed to have magical powers against bullets and sharp weapons, along with 12 broken riot shields as evidence.

They arrested people are believed to have been responsible for the March 10 attack on a police station in the Manggarai regency capital, Ruteng. Police fired shots to disperse the crowd, killing four men and injuring 28.

No police officers were declared suspects in the deaths, but the district police chief in Ruteng was replaced and interrogated by a National Police team.

Wasiran said the dossiers on 10 of the civilian suspects were almost ready for submission to the court.

He said the National Police team has completed its investigation into the incident and returned to Jakarta, while a fact-finding team from the East Nusa Tenggara police remained in Ruteng to continue gathering data.

At least nine middle-ranking officers from the Manggarai police had been questioned so far by the National Police, Wasiran said.

Separately, NTT Police chief Brig. Gen. Edward Aritonang said other officers implicated in the fatal shooting would also be questioned.

He vowed to investigate the case thoroughly.

Wasiran added the situation in Ruteng had returned to normal and political parties were able to campaign peacefully.

Wasiran added that 10 victims shot in the attack were still in a critical condition and needed special medical care at a better- equipped hospital.

NTT Police had the authority to transfer the seriously wounded victims to other hospitals, he said.

"I've contacted the NTT Police but they're still awaiting clearance from the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta," he said.

Wasiran said the victims would also be questioned as witnesses when their conditions had improved.

The attackers were mostly coffee growers demanding the release of seven colleagues arrested for trying to plant coffee in a protected forest.