Group vandalizes, loots East Timor NGO office

JAKARTA (JP): A group of around 30 people from an unidentified group vandalized the office of Solidamor on Wednesday afternoon leaving two staff, including Solidamor chairman, injured.

Besides vandalizing the office on Jl. Pramuka Jayasari in east Jakarta, the attackers, believed to be East Timorese, also stole about Rp 20 million (US$2,350) and personal items, such as clothes and shoes, from the Solidamor staff, witnesses and victims said.

Local Cempaka Putih police detectives have not disclosed the results of their preliminary investigation of the motive for the attack, and Solidamor staff insisted that they had no idea of the attackers' purpose.

Solidamor is an organization that supported the independence of East Timor.

According to witnesses and office staff, the attackers arrived at the scene in a truck at about 4:30 p.m. and were welcomed, without any suspicion, by Sapolo, an office boy.

"We didn't expect such an incident to happen," Solidamor chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos said from his bed at St. Carolus hospital. He suffered several bruises.

The attackers, he said, wore red-and-white scarfs over their heads.

And according to Andriyanto, one of the staff, "two of them also wore military uniforms although keeping their long hair," Bonar quoted.

"It happened so fast, about 10 minutes. There were no dialogue at all," Bonar recalled.

As soon as Sapolo opened the door, some of the attackers started to kick the office assistant in his stomach while others began to ransack the office. Some of them were reportedly carrying long swords, he said.

Bonar suffered light injuries after the attackers beat him about his head and arms with stones and folded chairs.

Female staffer Mindo Rajagukguk said the mysterious group made off with the office safe deposit box, which contained Rp 18 million cash.

"They also took another Rp 1.8 million cash belonging to Sapolo," Mindo said, referring to the office boy.

The attackers shattered the windows and destroyed everything found inside the office, such as television, desks, and chairs, she said.

Togar, another employee, said: "Perhaps it's a kind of political terror to prevent the human rights court from taking place."

He was referring to the alleged roles of former Indonesian Military officials, who have been accused of involvement in human rights violations in East Timor.

According to Togar, the attackers were members of the same group, which occupied the office of the National Commission of Human Rights earlier last month. (asa/nvn)