Protesters in Indonesia set fire to mayor’s office

Protesters have set fire to a mayor’s office on an Indonesian island to demand compensation over a mining company’s activity in the area, police said, adding that several arrests had been made.

The presence of mining companies on Indonesia’s main islands has caused riots and clashes in the past few years over poor working conditions and land encroachment.

The unrest began on Thursday in Pohuwato regency in Gorontalo Province on Sulawesi island when a march involving about 2,500 people approached the local mayor’s office, but no official was willing to meet with them, local media reported.

Members of the community had organized the march to demand compensation over gold mining activity in their area by PT Puncak Emas Tani Sejahtera, a subsidiary of PT Merdeka Copper Gold, which oversees the Pani Gold Project mine.

“Regarding the demo, the police are still working hard to investigate the riot that happened during the demonstration in Pohuwato,” Gorantalo police said on its Web site on Thursday, quoting police spokesman Desmont Harjendro.

After the mayor’s office was set on fire, protesters headed to the local parliament to stage another demonstration, where the building was also damaged, reports said.

Harjendro said that “several protesters” were detained and that police were guarding the sites.

“They will be questioned regarding the violent demonstration that ended in the destruction of several facilities, including the burning of Pohuwato mayor’s office,” he said.

He warned other protesters that they would be arrested if they engaged in violent attacks or damaged public property.

Boyke Poerbaya Abidin, president director of Merdeka Copper Gold and PT Puncak Emas Tani Sejahtera, criticized the demonstrators.

“We deeply regret the incident and we condemn the violent acts by the irresponsible protesters that has caused damages,” he said in a statement.

He said the mining project was operating on a license approved by the Indonesian government.