Police point to officials' hand in recent unrest
JAKARTA (JP): The authorities have revealed that government officials and legislators may have been involved in recent unrest in various parts of the country.
Police said on Thursday that officials may have incited crowds into burning mosques and other public facilities in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, while an Air Force colonel might lose the office of regent which he holds following his failure to contain tribal violence that killed 27 in West Sumba, West Nusa Tenggara. Both incidents took place in November.
Separately, in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, police disclosed that they were questioning someone in connection with instigating the bloody incident in Poso regency last month and said that a senior regency administration official might also be implicated.
Antara reported that East Nusa Tenggara Police spokesman Maj. Sismantoro alleged that certain provincial officials helped to incite angry mobs into damaging and setting fire to mosques, government offices and houses in Kupang.
Demonstrators in the predominantly Christian city burned and vandalized mosques, houses, shops and several Islamic schools on Nov. 30.
He said that police had handed over 29 dossiers containing details of 52 suspects to the provincial prosecutor's office.
"We have identified the alleged agents provocateurs," Sismantoro said without elaborating.
He dismissed an earlier statement by the Udayana Military Commander, Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, who said that people from outside of the province were involved in the unrest. The military command oversees East Nusa Tenggara, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Timor.
"In general, we have arrested only local citizens," Sismantoro noted.
The violence in Kupang was reportedly in retaliation for the burning of several churches and a Catholic school during an incident in West Jakarta the week before.
From Kupang, Antara quoted an East Nusa Tenggara official as saying on Thursday that Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri had approved the dismissal of Col. Rudolf Malo, for his failure to stop violence that claimed 27 lives in Waikabubak, the capital of West Sumba, two months ago. Rudolf is the Waikabubak regent.
The incident involved the Wewewa and Loli tribes and erupted after the Loli accused Rudolf of favoring the Wewewa people during a recent intake of new civil servants for the regency.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet Tallo was reportedly angered to hear that Rudolf disappeared after the unrest erupted.
Separately on Thursday, Central Sulawesi Governor H.B. Paliudju vowed to sack Poso Regency Secretary Ida Yahya Patiro if evidence showed that Ida was involved in the riot which erupted in Poso over Christmas.
In South Sulawesi, Jeneponto Police chief Lt. Col. Alimuddin Nur announced on Wednesday that five councilors from the Golkar faction were suspected of an involvement in a fire which raged through the legislative council building on Christmas eve. There are a further 19 suspects in the investigation.
Alimuddin said the five legislators would be questioned as soon as South Sulawesi Governor H.Z.B. Palaguna gave his approval, as required by the law.
He alleged that the five men were dissatisfied with the election of Baharuddin Baso Tika as regent and had also incited others into rejecting him as their leader.
Meanwhile in Cilacap, Central Java, thousands of angry residents of Bulaksari village ransacked six houses owned by village leaders on Tuesday night after failing to recover Rp 50 million collected from them by a former village chief.
The object of the villagers' wrath, Husen, refused to return the money and challenged the villagers to take him to court. (prb/45)