Police free alleged provocateur

DENPASAR, Bali: Nusa Dua Police released a man suspected of being one of the provocateurs behind the recent riots in Bali after hundreds of the suspect's supporters besieged the police station where he was being held on Wednesday.

The crowd blocked every road leading to the Nusa Dua tourist resort and called on police to free the suspect, identified as Ribet.

Ribet was arrested on suspicion that he was one of the provocateurs behind the riots on Oct. 20 and Oct. 21 which crippled activity in some parts of the tourist island.

The rampage was believed to have been initiated by supporters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) who were angered by the defeat of party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri in the presidential election.

Numerous government buildings were razed during the rioting.

Police believed Ribet, a 35-year-old security guard at a five- star hotel in Nusa Dua, was one of those behind the violence. He was arrested shortly after the riots and taken to the Bali Police Headquarters in Denpasar for questioning.

The release of Ribet drew strong protest from local figures. They said the police were setting a negative example with their inconsistency, and that they worried such mob action could again be used to hinder the legal process.

"It (the release) means that someday I may rob a bank, set some buildings ablaze or attack people without fear of being arrested or tried because I have supporters who would press the police to release me," Anak Agung Ngurah Gede Kusuma Wardhana, the prince of Kesiman, said.

Bali Police spokesman Lt. Col. Y Suyatmo, however, said legal proceedings would continue against Ribet. "We just postponed his detainment. We did not free him from the legal process." (zen)