Yorrys Raweyai, a former leader of one of the country's most feared thugs-for-hire groups, has registered himself as a candidate for the governorship of West Irian Jaya province.
Reports said Yorrys and his running mate Abdul M. Killian were nominated by Golkar Party and two smaller parties for next month's gubernatorial election.
Yorrys, of ethnic Chinese and Papuan background, was well known in the 1990s as deputy leader of Pemuda Pancasila, a youth organization that ran protection rackets and often carried out the dirty work of the military during former dictator Suharto's regime.
Pemuda Pancasila, which gained notoriety for attacking pro-democracy groups, provoking violence and bribing people to vote for Golkar, has lost much of its power in the underworld following the fall of Suharto in 1998. In 2001, members of the group formed their own political party, the Pancasila Patriots' Party, which came 15th out of the 24 parties that contested the 2004 general election, winning 0.95% of the vote and no seats in parliament.
Yorrys has remained a member of Golkar and is now a leader of the party's Youth Movement (AMPG).
He and Killian registered as candidates on Friday (24/6/05) in the provincial capital Manokwari. Killian is currently a member of the Papua legislative assembly and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Friday was the deadline for the registration of candidates in next month's direct gubernatorial election in the remote province. Only three pairs of candidates have registered.
The first pair is retired brigadier general Abraham Octovianus Atururi and Rohimin Kacong, who were nominated by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP). Atururi is the incumbent governor of the province. The second pair is former Papua province secretary Dortheis 'Dicky' Asmuruf and Ali Caspela. Asmuruf is the former secretary of Papua province.
Strong support, same faces
Yorrys and Killian were greeted by a large crowd of enthusiastic supporters upon their arrival Manokwari's Rendani Airport. Hundreds of cheering and singing supporters lined the 6 kilometer route as the candidates were driven in an open vehicle to the local parliament building. Their vehicle was accompanied by a noisy parade of many cars and motorbikes.
After completing the registration process and shaking hands with supporters and local government officials, Yorrys expressed confidence he would win the election, based on Golkar's landslide victory in West Irian Jaya in the April 2004 general election.
"Furthermore, we are also supported by two other parties with significant positions, they are the Prosperous Peace Party [PDS] and Indonesia Unity Party [PSI]," he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
Asked about his policies, Yorrys said improving law enforcement was the key to achieving clean governance. He also promised to increase public health and education services.
Many of the people on hand to support Yorrys wore traditional attire. Detikcom reported that most of the supporters had also showed up to support the two other pairs of candidates at previous rallies.
"They are the same people. When the other pairs of candidates had their parades of support, these same people also participated in the processions," said one driver hired by the campaign team of Yorrys.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who is also Golkar chairman, visited Manokwari earlier this month to attend a meeting in which Yorrys was nominated as the party's candidate for governor. Kalla said Golkar remained the most popular political party throughout Papua because it had always kept its promises.
Yorrys has been accused of supplying funds to Papuan pro-independence leader, the late Theys Eluay, to create a 7,000-member militia group called Satgas Papua (Papua Task Force). Analysts feared the militia group would be used to conduct attacks that could allow the military to justify taking deadly retaliation against locals.
In April 2000, Yorrys was detained as a suspect in the July 27, 1996, government-sponsored attack on the Jakarta headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). Several people were killed in the attack that sparked massive riots. Yorrys was released in May 2000, ostensibly due to insufficient evidence and never taken to court.
In December 2001, police said Suharto's youngest son Hutomo 'Tommy' Mandala Putra had complained to investigators that Yorrys had reneged on a promise to safeguard him while he was wanted for murder, despite having been paid $5 million. Pemuda Pancasila denied the allegation, claiming Yorrys had never accepted any money from Tommy while he was a fugitive.
West Irian Jaya province was created from the western part of Papua province in February 2003. It covers the Bird's Head Peninsula and surrounding islands. The split remains controversial, with supporters claiming the creation of the new province will lead to efficient management of resources and fair distribution of services. Opponents say the split violates Papua's special autonomy legislation and merely serves to quell separatism and accelerate illegal logging.
The Constitutional Court in November 2004 agreed that the split violated Papua's autonomy legislation, but ruled that because West Irian Jaya had already been created, it should remain separate from Papua.