Indonesia: Residents shoo away Palu police chief after clash

Residents shoo away Palu police chief after clash

Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Sun, 01/08/2012

Palu Police chief Brig. Gen. Dewa Parsanan received a cold reception when he arrived in Nunu subdistrict, Central Sulawesi, to try clam tempers following a violent clash between local residents of two neighboring subdsitricts, on Saturday.

The Nunu residents shouted at the police chief, demanding he leave the area at once after he told Nunu residents to refrain from violence and instead allow the authorities to do their work.

Dewa came to Nunu just before a burial ceremony began for a Nunu resident who was killed in the clash on Saturday morning.

“We don’t need the police. They are useless. Let the military stand guard here,” one of the residents shouted.

The police chief and a number of police officers who were there left immediately. No police officers were seen during the burial of the resident, who was identified as Ridwan, alias Duang, 32.

Palu Deputy Mayor Andi Mulhanan Tombolotutu, who was present during the burial, told Nunu residents to calm down and not attempt to avenge Ridwan’s death.

The burial took place at around 4 p.m. local time (3 p.m. Jakarta time).

“It will be the loss of all of us if you all retaliate. Please consider our poor children and mothers. They will be worried,” Mulhanan said.

However, hundreds of Nunu residents who had flocked to the scene responded to Mulhanan’s words by shouting “revenge, revenge, revenge”.

Mulhanan then took one of the residents’ hands and asked the latter to follow him to his car so that he could calm him down.

Residents from Nunu, West Palu, clashed with other residents from the neighboring subdistrict of Tavanjuka, South Palu. They wielded machetes, stones, spears, arrows and air guns in the clash.

A number of houses were set ablaze and one person, Ridwan, was shot dead, allegedly by an airgun projectile, during the clash.

There have been many such clashes between residents from the two subdistricts in the past, with the latest one, which left seven people injured, occurring last Dec. 23.