The chief of police in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province has lost his job after President Megawati Soekarnoputri complained about police violence at protests against the arrest of militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir. Megawati met her national police chief, General Dai Bachtiar on Saturday night after national television showed South Sulawesi police clubbing scores of madrassa talibs university students with revolvers and batons. The students had been protesting against Bashir’s arrest immediately after he was released from jail on Friday. General Bachtiar announced yesterday that Mrs Megawati had ordered him to act against the police whose officers were shown entering classrooms at the Indonesian Muslim University in Makassar to beat students, some of whom had taken a traffic policeman hostage during their demonstration. He said he had removed South Sulawesi’s police chief inspector, General Jusuf Manggabarani - who had just announced the removal of at least two of his most senior officers in an attempt to contain the fallout from the violence. About 60 students were wounded, including two who were shot. The protest is likely to strengthen opposition to the arrest of Bashir, for interrogation over terrorist offences. Megawati also issued an apology to the students.
Good dhimmi. |