Police focus on riot instigators

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: Police said on Monday there was strong evidence linking eight people, including prominent figures, to the Nov. 30 riot here, Antara reported.

"Four of the eight people are high-ranking officials," chief of the provincial police, Col. Engkesman Rangkeong Hillep, said following a closed-door meeting with members of the National Commission on Human Rights.

Commission members Clementino dos Reis Amaral, Benyamin Mangkoedilaga and Mohammad Salim are in Kupang to collect firsthand information on the Nov. 30 tragedy.

The Kupang incident followed a procession initiated by four Christian youth organizations to mourn the Nov. 22 riot in Ketapang, Jakarta, which claimed at least 14 lives and damaged several buildings, including churches.

At least 11 mosques and smaller Moslem places of worship were set ablaze and more than a dozen houses, a haj dormitory, government offices and school buildings were destroyed in the Kupang riot, causing material losses of nearly Rp 30 billion.

During their visit, the commission members also met with Moslem, Christian and Catholic figures.

Hillep said the eight were identified after the interrogation of 54 suspects. He said the provocateurs ordered or incited the mourners to commit destructive acts.

"When the time comes we will arrest them."

He said dossiers of 14 of the 54 suspects in the looting and arson during the riot were submitted to the local public prosecutor's office for further processing.

"The rest will be submitted to the public prosecutor's office in one to two weeks' time," he said.

He added the police also impounded three trucks used in the riot.