19 Arrested for Riot at North Kalimantan Governor's Office
Jakarta. Police have arrested 19 people suspected of involvement in a riot on Saturday during which protesters set fire to the North Kalimantan governor's office and destroyed several cars, presumable in anger over the result of the Dec. 9 regional elections.
"The suspects have been transferred to the [East Kalimantan Police headquaters in] Balikpapan," said Sr. Comr. Winston Tommy Watuliu, of the East Kalimantan Police's general crimes unit. "We're still searching for the coordinators [of the protest]."
North Kalimantan, Indonesia's youngest province, does not have a regional police force of its own yet.
Tommy said the rioters were unhappy with the result of the local elections and were demanding a recount while accusing the government of not having remained neutral.
The elections were won by Irianto Lambrie and Udin Hianggio, who according to local media got 143,592 votes, while their opponents, Jusuf Serang Kasim and Marthin Billa, received 127,184 votes.
Police have flown in several hundred officers from Jakarta to reinforce their colleagues in Tanjung Selor, the provincial capital.
Part of the governor's office was damaged by the fire, but there were not reports of injuries.
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