A bloody clash was happened in North Jakarta, April 14, 2010, between Public Order Agency who would demolish a sacred tomb and people who defend the tomb.
City Blames Public Order Agency for Raging Violence
The Jakarta administration has blamed its very own Public Order Agency for the mayhem currently gripping at Tanjung Priok area in North Jakarta.
Administration spokesman Cucu Ahmad Kurnia, speaking during a news conference at City Hall, said the 2,000 officers from the agency, also known as Satpol PP, involved in countering the demonstrations could not restrain themselves when they were initially attacked.
It remains unclear who initiated the violence, however, with demonstrators claiming that is was Satpol PP who first targeted two teenagers.
Here is the chronology of the deadly violence according to the city administration.
5:30 a.m. Satpol PP has holds a briefing with North Jakarta Deputy Mayor Atma Sinjaya.
6 a.m. - 8 a.m. Satpol officers arrived in convoys at the tomb of Habib Hasan bin Muhammad Al Hadad, also known as Mbah Priok, in Koja, Tanjung Priok, aboard trucks. They have two excavators machines.
The officers are attacked by 400 people shortly after they arrive. Local residents who believe -allegedly incorrectly- that Satpol will destroy the sacred tomb.
The rioters, armed with cutting weapons such as sickles and machetes, throw Molotov cocktails and rocks at the officers, injuring a number. One officer loses an arm while another is reportedly slashed accross the stomach.
Unable to control their anger, the officers retaliate, injuring a number of rioters, many of them critically. Television footage shows an uncontrolled mob running amok and stomping on demonstrators they have attacked.
During the early of afternoon, pitched battles continue, with police using tear gas and pepper bullets in attempts to disperse protesters.
Cucu said a total of 90 people were injured in the clash, seven of them being in critical condition. There have been no death, he said.
All of the injured were taken to nearby Koja Hospital, setting the scene for further confrontations.
4 p.m. Fresh clashes erupt in front of the hospital. Footage shows police and Satpol officers being brutally beaten.
Locals burn five police vehicles, including a truck and water canon vehicle, creating a pall of thick black smoke over the area. Another police cars are also damaged.
A member of Islamic Defender Group tell the Jakarta Globe that a boy had been killed during the clash but Satpol PP had forbidden them from evacuating his body from the tomb complex. The claim cannot be verified.
6:45 p.m. The situation remains tense and there are fears the situation may escalate. There is a growing crowd outside the Koja Hospital where Satpol PP officers are being treated and police have retreated effectively leaving them without protection.
In a separate interview, Cucu told the Jakarta Globe that with security forces withdrawn from the area, local were continuing to riot.
He said the administration had postponed what he said were city restoration effort of the cemetary.
He denied any suggestion the city would level the tomb -- which doesn't even contain Priok's body -- but were attempting to demolish surrounding buildings that did not have building permits.
He said the city had informed locals of plans but they had misinterpreted their messages.
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