National

Police Open Fire on Five Bojong Residents
Tuesday, 23 November, 2004 | 22:25 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Bogor, West Java:The plan to carry out a test run of the integrated waste processing site (TPST) in Bojong, Cileungsi, Bogor, ended in a riot.

At least seven local residents were wounded—five of them had been fired upon with rubber bullets--and several others were arrested by the police.

During the riot, the crowds burnt down five buildings, weighing units, security posts and trash bins.

They also destroyed the management office, a tractor and ten cars, including two police cars.

The management of the processing site, PT Wira Guna Sejahtera, has suffered damage amounting to billions of Rupiah because of this incident.

At the time of this report, the police had secured the area.

At a press conference held in Bogor after the incident, Bogor Region Police chief High Comm. Bambang Wasgito and Bogor Resort Police chief Adj. High Comm. M. Taufik said that the police would take stern measures against the perpetrators and management of the Bojong TPST.

Wasgito also promised to question eight members of Police Mobile Brigade who were on guard at the location prior to the incident.

These police members are assumed to have stood guard at the area without the knowledge of their superiors.

The incident started at 6am as Bojong, Ciuncal, Setusari, Mampir and Cikahuripan villagers, who heard about the test run, started to cut down hundreds of trees and walls along streets in Bojong village.

At around 10 am, the crowds tried to rush the gate of the waste site.

At least 20 policemen assigned to guard TPST Bojong tried to prevent the villagers from entering by using tear gas.

Hundreds of people kept trying to rush the gate and threw Molotov bombs, starting fires in many places.

As the police were pushed back, they began shooting and several people were wounded.

At 1.20 pm, police officers from Bogor Police arrived at the location as a back up and searched residents allegedly involved in the incident.

The police arrested 14 people, including Ipang, a youth figure who has been active in rejecting the opening of the TPST.

Several residents, accompanied by non-governmental organization (NGO) activists, came to National Police headquarters (HQ) in Jakarta in the evening and raised questions about the incident. (Deffan Purnama/Martha Warta-Koran Tempo)