Locals damage protected forest

Locals damage protected forest

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: Some 300 people went on a rampage on
Sunday in a protected teakwood forest in Kubangkangkung village,
Kawunganten district, Cilacap, some 245 kilometers south of the
Central Java capital of Semarang.

The incident was sparked by rumors that police had shot and
killed a local resident on Saturday for stealing wood.

Cilacap Police chief Comr. Bambang Hermanu confirmed the
incident on Monday, saying the locals, using chain saws, cut a
large number of trees and burned two posts belonging to forest
rangers.

"The action was prompted by rumors that one of 20 illegal
loggers was shot dead by police Mobile Brigade officers on
Saturday," Bambang said. "The officers did shoot Suwardi, but he
is alive because the officers used rubber bullets."

According to Bambang, 10 Mobile Brigade officers were
attempting to stop the 20 locals from cutting down trees. "Our
men had to shoot them. One of the locals, Suwardi, was shot. His
family then rushed him to the nearest health center for
treatment. Hours later rumors began to spread that Suwardi was
dead."

An employee at the health center, Ani Puji, confirmed on
Monday that a man identified as Suwardi was treated at the health
center for a gunshot wound. "But no one died in the health
center," she told The Jakarta Post.

Bambang said 13 logs and a number of chain saws and swords
were confiscated on Sunday. He added that the teakwood trees were
between 15 and 20 years old. (45/sur)