Palu, Tito Sianipar – The secretariat offices of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) in the Central Sulawesi provincial capital of Palu was attacked by a large group of people on Sunday night. “We suspect that they originate from one of the [local military] units”, said the chairperson of Papernas’s Palu branch Martin Sibarani when speaking with Tempo on Sunday night.

According to Martin, the assailants were heavily built, had short-cropped hair and wore military style boots. Moreover one of the attackers who was caught was private first-class Makmur. “We have (sic) already handed him over to the Palu Military Police Detachment”, he said.

As a result of the attack, three people that were at the Papernas offices sustained injuries after being beaten. The three victims are Wira, Ikhsan and Eko Haryanto. “Ikhsan and Wira are currently being treated at the Central Sulawesi Bayangkara Regional Police Hospital”, said Martin.

Based on testimonies by the victims and local residents, the 40 or so attackers had already been keeping the Papernas office under surveillance. They even bought cigarettes and phone recharge vouchers from stalls in the vicinity of the office. “Local people were suspicious”, he said.

Papernas general secretary Hari Sitorus expressed his regrets over the attack. “We have asked police to investigate the case and find the group of assailants”, he said. Hari said that Papernas has appointed the People’s Legal Aid Association (PBHR) as their attorney and have reported the attack to police.

[Translated by James Balowski.]