Rio Prakoso, a member of the local tourism organization, said that tourism workers were engaged in a clean-up activity at the Puncak Waringin tourist site when security forces dispersed them.

“We were cleaning and picking up trash in the area when armed personnel came and told us to disperse at around noon Central Indonesian Time,” Rio told media portal detik.com on Monday evening in Labuan Bajo, the gateway town to the park.

He said the “armed personnel” had beaten up and arrested several other people as they were being dispersed. Tourism workers then went to the West Manggarai Police station in the evening to show solidarity with those who had been arrested.

“We came in peace and were sitting in front of the office, but the police proceeded to disperse us with force,” said Rio.

Tourism businesses in Komodo National Park began a month-long strike on Monday as the government imposed an 18-fold price hike for admission to the park's most popular islands, Komodo and Padar, from Rp 200,000 (US$13) to Rp 3.75 million ($252).

The move is intended to limit the number of visitors to protect the endangered Komodo dragons, the world's largest lizards, from overexposure to humans and environmental damage at the World Heritage site in NTT.

West Manggarai Police chief Adj. Sr. Come. Felli Hernato confirmed the violent actions of police officers. “It was a reaction, because they [the protesters] were resisting,” Felli said as quoted by CNN Indonesia.

Felli said, however, that the arrests were made at Komodo airport.

“[The protesters] were entering and resisting while breaking into a high-security area, disrupting the arrival of domestic and foreign tourists,” he said.

The government’s decision has sparked uproar among the local residents, who rely on tourism, and industry-related businesses in the national park still reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic closed their doors in protest on Monday.

"We have no other option. We have conveyed all our rational opinions and arguments, but the government didn't listen," Servianus Setiawan, a tour operator in Labuan Bajo, told AFP.

"We support Komodo conservation, but please come up with a sensible figure so we can protect Komodo dragons and people whose livelihood depends on tourism can live," he said.

NTT Governor Viktor Laiskodat said the new admissions price would be enforced despite the protest.

"We admit that we failed to disseminate the information [on the price hike] properly. We will inform the people better while monitoring and evaluating the situation," he told reporters on Monday.

According to Servianus, at least 700 tourism workers are taking part in the strike until the end of August.

But the community’s response has also caused social division.

Samin, who organizes local tours, told AFP that those refusing to join the strike had been threatened with "social sanctions", and one tourism association has threatened to burn down businesses that remained open.

Local residents have said the drastic price hike would deter tourists traveling on a limited budget from visiting the national park, which was almost deserted at the peak of the pandemic.

Komodo dragons are found only in the national park and on neighboring Flores Island. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), just 3,458 adult and baby Komodo dragons are left in the wild.

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