Residents rampage over late rescue plan
Residents rampage over late rescue plan
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of residents of the Merauke regency,
Irian Jaya, ran amok on Thursday in response to the slow rescue
operation to search and rescue the victims of the sunken KM Bimas
Raya II ferry, which sank in the Arafura sea off the regency on
Monday evening.
Antara reported from Merauke that mobs damaged and burned
government buildings, houses and a market, paralyzing the
economic and social activities of the city.
A number of angry residents said they regretted the rescue
workers' slow action in locating the victims.
"We expected the rescue workers to immediately take the
victims to Merauke to let relatives of the passengers obtain
instant information of the passengers' fate," one of the
residents said.
The KM Bimas Raya II sank on its way back to Merauke seaport
from its route along the rivers in the eastern part of Irian
Jaya. Some 300 passengers were reportedly on board, while only 35
of them had been rescued from the sinking ship.
Chief of the Merauke Military District Lt. Col. Udin said
three of the victims were found dead, floating in the sea.
An officer at Merauke's Search and Rescue office said on
Thursday that the authorities were yet to determine the cause of
the incident.
"Probably because of overcapacity and leakages at the bottom
of the ship," the officer, who requested anonymity, said.
He said rescue operations were continuing under the guidance
of a military helicopter.
Earlier, at noon on Wednesday, the angry residents who were
dissatisfied with the information provided by the rescue
authorities, staged a protest at the local legislative council,
demanding immediate rescue of the victims. They later started
damaging and burning houses, including government buildings.
The damaged buildings include the Merauke seaport
administrative office, the Merauke Coastal Guard office, the
Merauke's Logistics Agency (Dolog) office, a number of houses and
kiosks surrounding the seaport and the Ampera market. The mobs
also looted kiosks belonging to market traders.
The home of an Antara journalist and the local Cenderawasih
Pos daily office were also damaged by the mobs.
Paralyzed
The two-day unrest paralyzed the city, sending city residents
home from work. They chose to stay at home in the absence of
public transportation in the city as the only means of
transportation were police and military trucks.
Meanwhile, fishing boats and cargo ships dropped anchors off
the seaport to avoid the mobs after rumors said that they would
extend their actions by burning the ships and boats docked at the
seaport.
The situation remained tense as of Thursday afternoon, while
dozens of police and military officers stood guard at strategic
locations, such as banks and offices of the State Electricity
Company PT PLN, the State Oil and Gas Company PT Pertamina and
the State Telecommunication Company PT Telkom.(eba/imn)