Papua: Reign of Terror | Bima Incident

The Jakarta Globe February 21, 2012
Papuan Politicians Named Suspects for Reign of Terror by Supporters
by Banjir Ambarita

Jayapura

Two district head candidates in Puncak Papua were named suspects on Monday by the Papua Police for allegedly inciting a political feud that has killed at least 30 people.

Supporters of Elvis Tabuni, the speaker of the Puncak Papua legislative council, and Simon Alom, who led the transitional administration when the district was established, have engaged in clashes since July over an election dispute.

Thirteen people were killed in the first clash, while the others died in the sporadic outbreaks of violence that have followed.

'Based on the testimony of the victims, these two political figures are behind the series of brawls in Puncak,' Papua Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Paulus Waterpauw said.

Elvis and Simon, he added, will be charged under the Criminal Code for inciting criminal acts.

The electoral dispute began after both candidates said they had received the backing of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

Elvis registered for the election with a letter of recommendation from the local Gerindra branch, while Simon had a letter from the party's central board in Jakarta.

'From our investigation, the two suspects instructed their supporters to attack each other,' Paulus said. 'The two suspects also left [the district] while the conflict was still raging, leaving their supporters at war with each other.'

Paulus said that after the two politicians fled to safety, their supporters lacked leaders and the chaotic fighting descended into a virtual tribal war.

Police have been questioning Elvis and Simon since Friday.

Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wachyono said the police had initially tried to mediate between the two sides, reserving legal actions as a last resort.

'The police have asked both sides to settle their differences and stop the conflict,' he said, adding that the violence has 'crippled' the district.

'All of the teachers have left,' he said. 'All of the public officials fled to safety, and traders have also taken their businesses elsewhere in fear of their lives.'

Kalion H., a member of Puncak Papua's legislative council, said that naming both political figures suspects would only serve to exacerbate the conflict.

Hundreds of supporters from both sides have been protesting outside Papua Police headquarters in Jayapura since the men were questioned on Friday.

According to Wachyono, the police are trying to prevent future clashes by dispatching riot police and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers to the district.

But the isolation of the district, which is located in the remote highlands of Papua and accessible only by plane, has made it difficult to send reinforcements.

Siti Zuhro, a regional autonomy expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), blamed the violence on a lack of supervision from the central government and the General Elections Commission (KPU), given that Puncak Papua is a newly established administrative region.

In another Papuan district, Tolikara, 11 people have been killed and 201 others injured in poll-related violence that has gripped the district since last month. The election there involves Golkar-backed incumbent John Tabo and the Democratic Party's Usman Wanimbo.

The conflict began when Tabo rejected the new members of the elections committee, who were inaugurated on Jan. 4.

He questioned their neutrality and demanded the selection of new members.

Police said Tabo mobilized his supporters to stage rallies, prompting Usman's backers to organize counter-rallies.

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The Jakarta Globe February 21, 2012

NTB Police Name 6 Suspects in Bima Incident but Are Yet to Detain Them

by Fitri

Mataram

The West Nusa Tenggara Police on Monday named six suspects in the destruction of the Bima district head office, which was burned to the ground by an angry mob on Jan. 26.

The suspects, believed to have provoked members of the public during the incident, were identified as Muhammad, Aca, Arafik, Anhar, Ahmad and Mulyadin. They have not been detained.

West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Police spokesman Sukarman Husen said the police had yet to interrogate the suspects.

'We will wait until the situation allows us to do so,' he said. 'Right now is not the time.'

Sukarman said the police had only gathered data and identified the suspects.

Losses from the incident were still being calculated, he said, adding that the administration in Bima's Lambu district was yet to result to normal, especially because local residents were sometimes blocking roads.

'The situation in Lambu is still being dominated by suspicions,' Sukarman said. 'Sometimes the roads are opened and sometimes they are closed. Public service is still not functioning normally.'

Constructing a new office might cost Rp 20 billion ($2.2 million), Bima district head Ferry Zulkarnain said.

NTB administration spokesman H.M. Faozal said his office had met with Ferry to follow up the incident. NTB Governor Zainul Majdi also met with Ferry and his staff, visiting the temporary office last week.

Fifty-three people were arrested during the January demonstration held to protest a mining exploration permit issued in 2010 to Australian gold prospector Sumber Mineral Nusantara.

Snipers were deployed in a brutal police crackdown, and at least three civilian protesters died from gunshot wounds.

During the riot in which the district office was burned down, protesters also went to the police detention facility where 35 people who had been arrested in the earlier protest were being held.

The mob demanded they be released, and all of them were freed. Some have since turned themselves in again.

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