Nurni Sulaiman, Balikpapan – People of the Dayak indigenous tribe under the auspices of the Dayak Solidarity Organization on Monday staged simultaneous rallies in five cities across East Kalimantan, demanding the gubernatorial election, slated for May 26, be postponed.
Demonstrators in Balikpapan, Samarinda, Bontang, Tarakan and Malinau called on the administration to hold the election after the 17th National Games, which the province is scheduled to host from July 6 to 17.
"We expect the election not to be organized until after our voices are heard. We, the Dayak community who are indigenous people of Kalimantan, feel dejected and disappointed because our aspirations have never been accommodated. We don't require a governor from the Dayak tribe, but at least there should be a Dayak candidate to represent us," said rally coordinator Bayer Gabriel.
In Balikpapan, some 500 tribesmen blocked the highway to the Sepinggan International Airport but were prevented from entering the compound by police Mobile Brigade troops. In protest, they occupied an intersection connecting Jl Marsma Iswahyudi, Jl Mulawarman and Jl Yos Sudarso. Although flight activities were uninterrupted, passengers going in and out of the biggest airport in East Kalimantan were forced to take a ten-kilometer detour.
To secure the situation, the Balikpapan city police deployed eight truck-loads of anti-riot police personnel, an armored car and a water cannon.
Protesters rallied at the Balikpapan General Elections Commission (KPUD) office and the municipal council building before obstructing access to the airport.
At the council building, a number of Dayak community figures addressed the crowd and expressed their disappointment over unheeded aspirations in front of legislative speaker Burhanuddin Solong.
"We will continue to protest until our voices have been heard, failing which, don't imagine you can hold the election or National Games," cried Bayer in front of Burhanuddin.
In Samarinda, hundreds of Dayaks also rallied before the East Kalimantan KPUD office on Jl Basuki Rahmat. A commotion at one point ensued after protesters were engaged in a scuffle with authorities.
Four gubernatorial candidate pairs have been nominated to run in the election. They include Jusuf SK and Luther Kombong from the Golkar Party, Awang Faroek Ishak and Farid Wadjdy from the National Mandate Party, Nursyirwan Ismail and Heru Bambang from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Achmad Amins and Hadi Mulyadi from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).