Jayapura – The case of the hoisting of the Kejora flag on 1 December in Timika is being intensively handled by the Mimika police with back-up from the police force in Papua.

Chief of Police in Papua, Drs. Max Donald Aer said that this case is being pursued. Yesterday, the number of suspects increased by one to seven people.

"I visited Timika yesterday and there are now seven suspects who will be processed to face a court of law." He said that another four people on the DPO (wanted persons) list are being sought because they clearly committed the crime of rebellion.' he said yesterday (5 December) .

He said this was being treated as a priority so that interrogations can be quickly carried out and the suspects can then be handed on to the prosecutor.

Asked whether the police knew who the instigators of the flag-raising action were, he said one of the four wanted people was the instigator.

Asked whether the hoisting of the flag had any connection with the current political situation in Timika where local elections are pending, he only said that the investigations underway were looking into this matter.

"I can't say for certain whether that was the case but the fact is that this event did occur. I cant say whether this was just a case of people people wanting to show that the people wanting separation are still around, or for other reasons."

But he said that their events calendar always shows that 1 December is a day for activities such as hoisting the Kejora flag which is what happened in Timika.

"This is not a case of these people catching us out. We already had patrols in place, but it seems that people in certain locations where able to do this and within a couple of minutes, the perpetrators were under arrest." (fud/bat)

[Slightly abridged translation from TAPOL.]