Mob destroys govt buildings

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: A mob destroyed three state buildings following a violent dispute in Fakfak, hundreds miles east of here, police said.

A state-owned radio office and two local administrative buildings in the port city were ransacked, in an incident which stemmed from a dispute between a local civilian security group and refugees from Seram island, witnesses said.

Irian Jaya was renamed Papua in December by President Abdurrahman Wahid in a concession to its people who refuse to accept the existing name, which they say was forced on them by Indonesian "colonialists".

The House of Representatives has yet to ratify the name change.

Witnesses said Friday's trouble flared up when refugees disembarking from a ship from Seram in strife-torn Maluku province became angry at having to show their ID cards and hit several men from a group of Papuans. (eba)