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Police told to be proactive in conflict-prone regions
The Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) has called on the National Police (Polri) to be proactive in strengthening security and maintaining public order in six regions deemed the most prone to social conflicts, particularly ahead of the 2014 elections
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T
he Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) has called on the National Police (Polri) to be proactive in strengthening security and maintaining public order in six regions deemed the most prone to social conflicts, particularly ahead of the 2014 elections.
The six regions are Central Java, Jakarta, North Sumatra, Papua, South Sulawesi and West Java.
'In 2013, 24 social conflicts in Papua claimed 59 lives, including that of three police officers and nine Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel, and injured 92 other people,' IPW chairman Neta S. Pane said in Jakarta on Sunday as quoted by Antara news agency.
He said most of the social conflicts in Papua were between residents and groups. 'The most concerning incident was a riot that broke out after the final match of amateur boxing tournament Nabire Regent Club in July 2013 in which 18 people were killed,' said Neta.
West Java ranked the second province most prone to social conflicts. Student brawls and biker gang brawls in the province resulted in the highest number of deaths among all the regions.
'As many as 10 deaths were caused by student brawls while nine other deaths were due to biker gang attacks,' said Neta.
In Jakarta, fights between mass organizations and other groups have been dominant. According to IPW data, 18 social conflicts occurred in Jakarta throughout 2013 that claimed 12 lives.
'If such the condition continues, it will contribute significantly to security problems in the political year of 2014,' said Neta.
'Polri needs to anticipate social conflicts so that they do not disrupt the presidential and legislative elections,' he went on. (ebf)
