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Party members attacked in Tabanan
On the eve of the signing of a joint statement by political leaders for a peaceful election campaign, four members of the Bali branch of the Democrat Party (PD) were attacked by around 20 unknown assailants early Saturday morning
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On the eve of the signing of a joint statement by political leaders for a peaceful election campaign, four members of the Bali branch of the Democrat Party (PD) were attacked by around 20 unknown assailants early Saturday morning.
The assault occurred after the campaigners had finished up a routine patrol around the Kukuh village, Marga district in Tabanan regency.
On Monday the leaders of the 38 political parties contesting the April 9 elections are scheduled
to gather in Central Jakarta to sign a commitment for a peaceful campaign. The open campaign season will officially end on April 5 nationwide.
A PD campaign team official Mudarta said Sunday one of the party members, I Gusti Bagus Supartawan, 30, had undergone surgery at the Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar for serious wounds he sustained from sword and spear attacks.
The three others, Nyoman Yasa, 40, I Gusti Agung Eka Andika Pratama, 20 and I Gusti Alit Artana, 33, were treated at the Tabanan General Hospital.
The four were on patrol ensuring PD campaign material had not been vandalized, which occurs frequently.
“They [PD members] were badly injured and did not fight back, instead choosing to run away,” Mudarta said.
He described Tabanan as a “red area”, an area dominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Bali is the main support base for the PDI-P, with Tabanan overwhelming voting for the party in the 2004 general election with 85 percent overall support.
“We don’t really know who attacked us, but we believe people [from the PDI-P] had planned the violence as the street lamps nearby suddenly went off right before the attack,” he said.
PD immediately filed a report to the Bali Provincial Police.
Mudarta said Saturday’s inci-dent was the first physical attack toward PD.
“During the 2004 campaign we only received threats of violence,” he said.
Meanwhile, head of the Sanglah emergency unit, Kuning Atmaja, said that one of the victims, Supartawan, underwent surgery for severe lacerations to nerves in his arms and legs. A relative claims he was struck with a machete.
The mob also damaged three cars being used by PD members.
Supartawan’s wife, I Gusti Sri Rahayu, said the incident would not escalate into a political issue.
