Fitri, Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – Residents of Bima district in West Nusa Tenggara have demanded that police withdraw the counterterrorism squad sent to the area in the wake of massive protests that led to the district head's office being burned down.
The residents, whose demand echoes that made by human rights groups, said the presence of the Densus 88 squad in the district was "disturbing and unsettling."
"The people call on the National Police chief to withdraw Densus 88 and all other reinforcements sent to the area," Mulyadin, a spokesman for the protesters, said on Sunday.
He added that residents feared the presence of the counterterrorism unit, which has frequently been criticized for its propensity for shooting suspects rather than taking them alive, could spark another deadly clash between residents and security forces.
Three civilians were killed and dozens arrested during a clash with police on Dec. 24 at Bima's Sape Port, when a protest by residents over gold prospecting activities in the district turned violent.
The long-running tensions in the district centered around a mining exploration permit issued in 2010 to gold prospector Sumber Mineral Nusantara.
Prior to the clash last month, district head Ferry Zulkarnain had already ordered a suspension of prospecting activities. On Thursday, however, things spiraled out of control once again when residents occupying Ferry's office to force him to revoke the permit outright lost their patience and set the building on fire.
No one was injured in the incident. The rioters went on to ransack the local elections office and forced officials at the local detention center to release 53 people arrested in last month's clash.
On Saturday, Ferry finally conceded to the mob and announced that he would rescind SMN's permit.
Mulyadin said the residents were demanding that police drop all charges against the 53 people whom the residents had broken out of jail. He said they also wanted assurances that no one would be arrested for burning down the district head's office, which is estimated to have caused more than Rp 40 billion ($4.5 million) in damage.
Should the police attempt to breach the blockades set up by the residents outside their strongholds in the subdistricts of Sape, Lambu, Langgudu, Wera and Ambalawi, Mulyadin warned there would be another clash.
The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) has also called for the police to withdraw Densus 88 from Bima, arguing that the elite squad's presence would only aggravate tensions there.
"We want the squad withdrawn in order to prevent clashes or arrests that violate human rights," Suryadi Radjab, a PBHI official, said in a statement released on Sunday.
Separately, the provincial police have urged residents to turn in the 53 detainees. Adj. Sr. Comr. Sukarman Husein, a spokesman for the West Nusa Tenggara Police, said returning them was the "gentlemanly" thing to do because otherwise the people in question would retain the legal status of criminal suspect for the rest of their lives.
[Additional reporting from Antara.]