Regent told to step down after Flores arson attack
Regent told to step down after Flores arson attack
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the
largest faction in the East Flores Regency Council, proclaimed on
Thursday that it had withdrawn support for Regent Felix Fernandez
for his failure to meet "the people's aspirations".
"He must resign," Kristo Blasin, a senior PDI Perjuangan
executive, told The Jakarta Post.
Felix is a member of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's PDI
Perjuangan.
The statement came after thousands of local residents launched
arson attacks on a courthouse and the prosecutor's office in the
East Flores capital of Larantuka.
The attacks occurred after a panel of judges sentenced local
Catholic priest Father Frans Amanuen to two months in jail for
libel, with a probation period of five months -- meaning he will
not go to prison unless he reoffends within the next five months.
The sentence has garnered increasing support and sympathy for
the priest, who has consistently criticized the regent for
alleged graft.
At the same time, the sentence sharply reduced the popularity
of the regent among the local people.
There has been growing demands for the regent to provide
clarification over an alleged mark up in the purchase of a multi-
purpose boat for local government amounting to Rp 3 billion
(US$352,941), among other projects.
"As a cadre of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, he
has failed to live up to people's expectations for good
governance. He must resign," said Kristo, who is the deputy
speaker of the East Flores legislative council.
The regent is apparently not the only target of local
political leaders.
Following the arson attack, the central executive board of the
Catholic Democratic Party (PKD) also decided that the party would
recall cadre Anton Mado Tupen from his current position as the
speaker of the East Flores legislative council over his failure
to meet people's interests.
The central board of the party issued a decree that dismissed
Anton as a member of the party, and it would soon follow up the
move with the recall.
The decree, dated Nov. 19, was signed by the party's acting
chairman Jos Rahawadan and secretary-general Ellyas Nyoman.
In the decree, the executive board said that Anton's failure
to help implement good governance and justice in the regency had
led to the arson attack, it said.
In a separate development, the Larantuka District Court and
the local prosecutor's office were still closed as of Thursday.
Most of the judges and prosecutors have fled Larantuka,
fearing they might become the target of assaults by angry local
residents.
Of the six judges at the Larantuka District Court, five of
them had fled Larantuka, leaving Wayan Suparta, the head of the
district court.
Eight prosecutors have also fled Larantuka, leaving Katar
Ginting, the head of Larantuka prosecutor's office, as the only
prosecutor staying put.
The head of East Nusa Tenggara Prosecutor's Office, B.R.
Pangaribuan, who oversees Larantuka Prosecutor's Office, said
that he would consult the attorney general in Jakarta, to seek a
solution to the problem.
Police have arrested three men who took part in the Saturday
riot. They were identified as Yohanis Sabon, Agustinus Diaz and
Wem.
The three have been questioned by police. But it remains
unclear if they were the masterminds of the violence or not.
The suspects had admitted taking part in the rioting, the
local police said.