Protesters destroy government office in East Java
On Friday, June 13, thousands of people supporting the PPP [United Development Party] in Jember, East Java, held a protest action over the elections. This action eventually developed into mass rioting.
There had been a number of previous protests against the fraudulence of the elections, but there had been no response from local officials. This time the masses, who had finished their Friday prayers, rallied at the local government offices two kilometres away. The crowd swelled as others arrived from different areas.
The protesters unfurled banners which read "District head: please listen to the voice of the people" and "Democratic justice or destruction!". A number of the participants in the action carried weapons such as traditional knives and stones.
In the end, the masses surrounded the Jember government office and pelted it with stones. They were able to get in by breaking down the front gate of the office. The offices were destroyed by the masses.
In this action, seven people were shot by the military, and three soldiers were seriously wounded after they were severely beaten and hit with rocks. One of those who was shot died. The remainder are being cared for at the Jember army hospital. Three hundred others were arrested by the military.
A local military commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Djasmib Senos from Dandim 0824, became the target of the masses. One of the demonstrators carrying a keris [a traditional knife] tried to stab him but he escaped.
On Saturday, Jember was still in the grip of demonstrations. Shops and offices closed. The people were still considering the possibility of a much larger follow-up action while the military continued to stand guard.
KH Sodiq Fikri, a religious figure and head of the Riyadlush Sholihin Islamic school, warned his followers not to combat evil with evil. He also regretted the actions of the soldiers who fired, causing a feud with the people.
Fikri also regretted the attitude of the Jember local government, which took no action against those who carried out the election fraud. "If the local government had acted decisively, yesterday's incident would not have occurred", he said.
He added that one of the triggers of the riot was the arrogance of those who carried out the election fraud, who are now walking about freely when they should be arrested.
[This is an abridged report from the Indonesian Liberation bulletin.]