Batam – Barelang Municipal Police Chief Senior Commissioner Heribertus Ompusunggu says that the situation at a village on Rempang Island is now conducive after an attack by unidentified people (OTK) early on the morning of Wednesday December 18.
Ompusunggu said that police officers have been deployed to ensure security in Sembulang Village, Galang district, Batam city, Riau Islands.
"It's conducive yes, we have involved personnel from Polri [National Police], there are 70, from Kodim [District Military Command], there are 25 personnel, who will take turns in keeping guard", he said when interviewed by reporters on Wednesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, based on CNN Indonesia's monitoring at the location, residents were seen repairing a coordination post that was damaged earlier that morning. Residents also appeared to still be watchful.
Ompusunggu said that the attack allegedly started when residents apprehended an individual who tried to remove banners rejecting the Rempang Eco City National Strategic Project (PSN).
"This incident is suspected to have been the trigger for the scores of OTK last night, at 11.30 pm", he said. It is suspected that this angered the friends of the person who was apprehended leading to the attack.
"We'll look into the problem first, we'll check one by one. We'll ask for information later from medical staff, and the medical examinations of those wounded who were affected so that we can make a chronology, and we'll do a case presentation so there's no conflicting information", said Ompusunggu.
Earlier, a coordination post (posko) setup by Rempang residents in the Sembulang Hulu and Sei Buluh villages was reportedly attacked by scores of unknown individuals early on Wednesday morning.
As a result of the attack, at least eight villagers were injured and had to be rushed to the hospital.
Jaidi, one of the residents at the location, told reporters that one of his children was beaten by the group. He claimed not to know who the individuals were who attacked so suddenly and brutally. Seeing his child being beaten, he was unable not fight back because there were too many.
"It was all of a sudden, I didn't know the people who suddenly arrived, they immediately attacked and beat my child, scores of people. They beat my child, threatened us with machetes, with knives, with wooden sticks, all of this", said Jaidi on Wednesday.
The attack on residents at the location of the Eco City project has also attracted the attention civil society activists and national organisations.
The National Solidarity Team for Rempang held a press conference at the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) central offices in South Jakarta on Wednesday evening.
"From the preliminary data that was collected, there were at least eight residents who were injured and had to be rushed to the nearest hospital", they said in a press release received on Wednesday afternoon.
"The details are that four people suffered lacerations to the head, one person was seriously injured, one resident was hit by an arrow, one resident suffered a broken hand and one resident suffered minor injuries. In addition to this, dozens of motorbikes belonging to residents were also damaged", they added.
On that basis, they stated that the old village community in Rempang together with civil society organisations who are in solidarity with them are calling on President Prabowo Subianto and the House of Representatives (DPR) to ensure protection for indigenous peoples and the rights of Rempang people to their customary land.
They are also asking the National Police Chief (Kapolri) to order his officers to uphold the law seriously and firmly in all incidents of intimidation and violence committed against the Rempang community.
During the press conference at the Walhi offices, one of the Rempang residents who was present online, Wadi, said the attack began when one of the unknown persons was found to be damaging a banner reading "Reject Relocation" that had been installed by residents.
"Indeed, the chronology of what happened was they damaged 13 reject relocation banners, they were caught by residents, then chased by residents", said Wadi, who comes from the Sembulang Hulu Village.
The banners installed by residents around the Rempang Eco City national strategic project area are a form of opposition to the take over of the land belonging to the Rempang indigenous community. (arp/kid)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Kapolresta: Kondisi Keamanan Kampung di Rempang Sudah Kondusif".]
