Novel Bamukmin Says PA 212 Peaceful; Rioters Not Part of Them
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22 May 2019 12:02 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The 212 Alumni Brotherhood or PA 212, the group which made the loudest call for today's protests, said they have no accountability over the clash between the police and the mob in Bawaslu's building last night and in Tanah Abang this morning. The Prabowo Subianto supporters group said that the people involved in the anarchy are not part of their group.
PA 212 spokesman Novel Bamukmin said that the people who started the riot last night were individuals they are not affiliated with. The provocateurs, he said, are also not members of the People's National Sovereignty Movement.
"I can assure you that it was not our people," he told Tempo on Wednesday, May 22.
Novel said that the People's National Sovereignty Movement group has dispersed in orderly manner last night after the Tarawih prayer, which was when the chaos ensued. Novel claims he has no idea who the people involved in the clash with authorities.
Read also: Mob Beaten back by Police, Currently at Tanah Abang Area
Clashes broke out when a group of men returned to the Bawaslu building after the People's National Sovereignty Movement disbanded. The mob started damaging the barbed wires and the police arrested a number of people suspected of provoking.
The police confirmed that the anarchists were not part of the previous group that held a rally, as Central Jakarta Police Chief Comr. Hary Hermawan said last night.
However, not long after the The police managed to disband them, but they returned and demanded the police released the people arrested.
Their anger escalated and was followed with chaos that spread to the Tanah Abang area. The police fired tear gas, which the mob retaliated to by throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. The mob even set fire to the Petamburan Brimob Dormitory complex.
TEMPO.CO