One dead as Papuans clash over independence

Nethy Dharma Somba and Oyos Saroso, The Jakarta Post/Jayapura/Lampung

One person was killed and seven others injured in a tribal clash in Papua over whether Indonesian Independence Day should be commemorated, a senior police officer said on Thursday.

Jayapura Police detectives chief Second Insp. Jafar M. Yusuf said the clash between members of the Wei and Dambo tribes occurred on Tuesday in Kalimo subdistrict, Keerom regency.

Jafar said the clash began when a Kalimo subdistrict official announced during a church service last Sunday that the subdistrict would organize competitions to commemorate Independence Day on Aug. 17.

The subdistrict, which is reputedly a haven for Papuan separatists, is located near the border with Papua New Guinea.

Leaders of the Wei tribe said they opposed the holding of the competitions, while the Dambo tribe came out in support of the event.

Wei tribal leaders warned the Dambo tribe against supporting the competitions, but the Dambo's leaders refused to back down.

On Tuesday, dozens of Wei tribesmen attacked a predominantly Dambo neighborhood, resulting in the death of Hubertus Wei, 25. Four people from the Wei tribe and three from the Dambo tribe were also injured in the violence.

However, the Indonesian Military provided a different account of the incident. Lt. Col. Damar T. Santoso, the chief of the Tamalate battalion overseeing Keerom regency, said the clash was sparked by allegations of corruption in the distribution of government rice and cash aid to the subdistrict.

Damar said the incident began when a resident from the Wei tribe questioned a subdistrict official from the Dambo tribe about the distribution of the aid.

The Wei resident was reportedly unsatisfied with the official's responses to his questions, so he struck the official in the face.

According to Damar, the official told members of his tribe that he had been assaulted by a Wei tribesman, which provoked members of the Dambo tribe to attack a Wei neighborhood with machetes and arrows. In the violence, one Wei resident died and several people from both tribes were injured.

Damar refuted the police account that the incident was caused by a disagreement over whether to commemorate Independence Day.

"All of the residents of Kalimo, whether from the Wei or Dambo tribe, are ardent supporters of the Unitary State of Indonesia, so they support the competitions commemorating Independence Day," he said.

In Lampung, a house was burned down on Tuesday night following a dispute between two groups of young people in Budi Lestari subdistrict, South Lampung regency.

The incident began when Hendarto, a resident of hamlet III in the subdistrict, was riding his motorcycle on Tuesday afternoon. While he was passing in front of a soccer field in hamlet I, he crashed his motorcycle.

Several people watching the game, which was being held to commemorate Independence Day, booed Hendarto, who picked himself up and took several swings at the crowd.

Budianto, Hendarto's older brother, attempted to calm the situation but somebody cut him across his face.

The two brothers departed the scene, but later that night Hendarto, Budianto and dozens of their friends went to the house of Irwan, who they accused of cutting Budianto. When the group was unable to locate Irwan, they set his house on fire.

As of Thursday, police were questioning 24 witnesses in the incident, according to South Lampung Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Budi Susanto.