Marines 'kill three' in protest over land dispute

The Straits Times, May 31, 2007


JAKARTA - INDONESIAN marines shot and killed at least three people yesterday during a protest over a land dispute on the main island of Java.

A local official said marines started shooting after hundreds of residents from Pasuruan town in east Java gathered to try to stop the redevelopment of land at the centre of a bitter court dispute with the navy.

Residents were blocking a road leading to the land and became increasingly angry although it was unclear what prompted the navy marines to start shooting, said the official, Mr Muzammil Syafii.

'So far, we have three confirmed dead, all with gunshot wounds,' he added.

'Eight others were injured, most with bullet wounds, but one has since been released from hospital and the seven others are still undergoing treatment.'

One man and two women were killed, he said.

OkeZone news portal reported four people were killed, although this could not be immediately confirmed.

Television pictures showed chaotic scenes of bleeding residents, mainly women, being carried to hospital by truck.

Children were among the crowd, screaming and crying, Metro TV showed.

'There is a child about three years old who is injured,' said local police chief Boy Rafli Amar.

About 40 marines opened fired on the residents but then fled the area, one witness said. 'They ran away after the crowd became bigger,' witness Solihin told ElShinta radio.

'People were gathering on the road, it was easy to shoot them,' said another witness, named Kurois.

'The first to fall was Ustam,' he told ElShinta radio, referring to the man who was killed.

He said most of the crowd fled when the marines started shooting although some also pelted them with stones.

'Some fought back with stones, there was one (marine) hit,' he said.

Navy Marine Commander Safzen Nordin said earlier that it appeared the shooting started when residents began throwing stones at the marines. He added that details of the incident were still unclear.

'We are investigating the incident,' he told Metro TV.

'If we find that any of our members were involved in the clash, for sure, we will take strong measures against them,' he said.

The navy originally owned the land but had neglected it for many years, allowing residents to build and farm on the area, the East Java provincial government's website said.

The navy reclaimed ownership of it several years ago after a court decision that forced the residents off the 3,000-ha site, the website said.

The residents have lodged an appeal against the decision. The navy intends to develop the land into a training centre for its recruits.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE