Papua District Under Control After 11 Deaths

Papua District Under Control After 11 Deaths
Farouk Arnaz | February 20, 2012


Residents of Tolikara district in Papua recuperate from injuries sustained during election clashes in the region on Saturday. (Antara Photo)

Days of electoral violence in the district of Tolikara in Papua have left 11 people dead and 201 others injured, police said on Monday.

“From Feb. 14 to Feb. 18, there were 11 people who were killed and 201 severely injured. The number of houses torched stands at 122, plus the Golkar party secretariat, the electricity company office and the statistics office building,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said.

He said that the situation in Tolikara, especially the district town of Kaburaga, had been under control since Saturday.

Because of the violence, the election for the district chief and his deputy that had been initially scheduled for Feb. 17 was now postponed indeterminately.

Saud said so far no one has been arrested.

“The local district police, assisted by the Papua police, are still investigating this to soon come out with suspects,” he said.

The election involves Golkar-backed incumbent John Tabo and his running mate Edi Suyanto, and the Democratic Party’s Usman Wanimbo and running mate Amos Jikwa.

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

Tabo’s camp questioned the neutrality of the committee and demanded that new members be selected.

Police said Tabo mobilized his supporters to stage rallies, prompting Usman’s backers to organize counter-rallies. That precipitated a series of brawls that have taken place since January.

Last month, one clash resulted in the death of a teenage boy, Yusuf Yikwa.

Papua of late has seen a spate of politically charged violence, particularly in the newly established district of Puncak Papua, where at
least 30 people have died in a feud that has lasted nearly seven months.

Jakarta Globe