Group vandalizes, loots East Timor NGO office

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)