Yogyakarta – The office of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) in Yogyakarta, came under attack on Saturday evening (3/7) 23.30, by an unidentified group of people who were armed with machetes. Aside from damaging the office, the attackers also wounded a PRD activist, Endik, on his arm and left hip.

Yogyakarta PRD Chairman, Haris Rusli Motti informed the press, Sunday, Endik sitting with PRD activists in the guest room saw a gang setting fire to something under the jackfruit tree in front of the party's office. All of a sudden, one of them threw a molotov bomb in the direction of the sitting room. Not much later one of the unidentified men, wielding a machete in his hand, ran and broke into the PRD office.

Yogyakarta Chief Detectives Directorate, Lt. Colonel Yotje Mende, told Kompas that the PRD party never reported an incident or disaster. This also applied to the recent assault on the PRD office. Despite this, Yotje has to handle the case and pursue his search for those who are responsible for the damage.

"We'll go on with the search and we will investigate the case immediately," Yotje Mende said yesterday.

According to Haris Rusli Motti, at the time of the unexpected assault, Endik and his friends panicked and screamed, "We're being attacked by our own people..." Upon hearing their screams, Endik's friends, Iwan, Anggit, Himawan, Haris, Tanto, made for the back door and went into hiding in the bathroom.

However, Endik who closed the escaping line, got slashed by one of the unknown men. Endik managed to escape the office and shook off his persecutor. Realising that he lost his prey, the man with the machete returned to the office and started to break up everything. After this act, the machete man and his gang quickly vanished.

The ensuing pandemonium among the party management and PRD activists, drew surrounding neighbors to the site, upon which the raiding men fled.

The leased office on Jalan Jatimulyo, Kricak, in Tegalrejo Yogyakarta, suffered a burnt carpet, a sitting room splashed with a mixture of kerosene and gasoline and plastic bottles converted to molotov bombs.

Sandals and shoes were also burnt in the melee while the glass windows in the sitting room were splintered into fragments. Haris did not know exactly how many men there were. But, neighbors who witnessed the incident said that around eight men on two motorbikes arrived at the office site. Two men drove a Honda GL Pro, two others drove a Suzuki Shogun. The Honda driver was in civilian clothes, he was wearing a closed helmet and held a handy talky in his hands.

In Jakarta meanwhile, the PRD office in East Jakarta on Jalan Utan Kayu got damaged under a stoning siege by unidentified men on Sunday about 03.00. Windows and the rooftiles of the office which had been guarded by Uda, the canteen watchman, were damaged when it rained stones and wooden pieces on it. Apart from that, a white kijang van parked in front of the office was also damaged in the raid.

PRD Division Staff member, Budi Susyanto admitted that he had not reported the brutal act to police. "We planned to report the incident Monday to the Metro Jaya District Police," he said.

The office came under repeated assaults from the unknown gang. He added, several PRD offices in various places were frequently terrorised.

"The terrorists demanded that we stop our disqualification campaigns against the Golkar party on account of deceit and money politics practising," Budi said.

Police Chief, General Roesmanhadi said in Pandaan, East Java, the PRD demonstrations in front of KPU building last week had all the likes of provocation against security troops. Evidence in the form of a barbed wire flagpole, arrows and acid were there.

This cannot be justified. "They might have had plans to provoke the security troops into a fight," Roesmanhadi said Sunday.