Two killed in Golkar-PDIP clashes in Bali
Two killed in Golkar-PDIP clashes in Bali
I Wayan Juniartha and Wahyu Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post,
Denpasar, Bali
east two people were killed on Sunday in Singaraja, Buleleng,
some 100 kilometers north of provincial capital Denpasar, in a
series of violent clashes between supporters of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Golkar Party.
The victims were identified as Putu Negara, 30, and his
younger brother Ketut Agustana, 20. Negara was a member of the
local Golkar village committee. Their bodies were found lying
near the road, a few meters from their home in Petandakan
village.
"Apparently, they were mobbed by a large group of people,"
Buleleng Police chief Adj. Sr. Com. Muhammad Syafei said.
The bloody incident took place at around 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Details of the incident were still sketchy as dozens of
officers were still combing the area for evidence and possible
suspects.
"Police came across a group of PDI Perjuangan supporters in a
nearby food stall. Three of them have been taken down to the
station for questioning," said a police source, who declined to
be named.
The incident is the latest of three separate clashes that
occurred on Sunday.
Early in the morning, hundreds of PDI Perjuangan supporters
participated in a sports event to commemorate the Youth Pledge
Day. PDI Perjuangan secretary-general Sutjipto was slated to give
a speech at the end of the event.
"The first incident took place after several members of PDI
Perjuangan's paramilitary wing or satgas, who were on their way
to pick Sutjipto up, reported that they were pelted with stones
when they were passing in front of the local office of Golkar
Party," the source said.
At around 10 a.m., PDI Perjuangan supporters launched a
retaliatory attack directed at the Golkar office, setting a car
ablaze and damaging the building and several other cars.
At about the same time, a large contingent of PDI Perjuangan
supporters stormed a Golkar youth post in Kalibukbuk village and
torching a bus belonged to a Golkar member.
Hundreds of police officers immediately rushed to the scenes
to contain the incidents. Additional police Mobile Brigade
(Brimob) companies were transported from Denpasar and Jembrana to
assist local police.
Later in the afternoon, Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Made
Mangku Pastika, in an emergency meeting in Denpasar, decided that
the Bali Police headquarters would take over the case from the
Buleleng Police.
Priority will be given to preventive efforts in order to
minimize casualties and damage to property, Pastika said.
"However, I urge the public not to view any necessary legal
and law enforcement measures we will take in the future in a
biased mind-set of police being against a certain political
party. It is not the political party that we will target, but it
is the perpetrator(s), whom we will aggressively pursue and
investigate," he said.
The probe into the bloody incident will be conducted by a
newly established special investigating team led by Sr. Comr. Boy
Salamudin.
"I used to be very proud of being a Balinese, now I am truly
ashamed," said Pastika, in response to the clashes.
After the meeting, Pastika, along with several high-ranking
officers, traveled up north to visit the sites of the clashes.
The northern coastal regency of Buleleng had always been
politically the most volatile spot on the island.
Bloody conflicts in Buleleng also took place early in 1999,
involving Golkar supporters from the mountainous villages of
Cempaga, Sidatapa and Pedawa and PDI Perjuangan supporters from
Banjar village. The conflicts claimed nine lives, damaging dozens
of houses and forcing hundreds of people to take shelter in the
nearby forest.