"Today, in accordance with the order of the National Police chief, a team from the Propam (profession and security) Division, backed up by the Police Public Relations Division, is immediately deployed to Central Sulawesi and Parigi Moutong," Head of the Public Relations Division of the National Police Inspector General Dedi Prasetyo stated here on Monday.
The team is assigned to assist the Propam Division of the Central Sulawesi Police and a team formed by the Central Sulawesi Police chief to thoroughly investigate the incident.
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The Central Sulawesi Police has established the internal team to uncover the case. The team comprises personnel of the General Criminal Directorate, Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (INAFIS), and Forensic Laboratory of the provincial police.
"The commitment of the police leadership is very clear, and we will take strict action against any member found guilty in the incident that occurred in Parigi Moutong," Prasetyo affirmed.
The former Central Kalimantan Police chief emphasized that the National Police had acted swiftly to uncover the case and solve it.
"The order from the police leadership is to solve the case as soon as possible," he noted.
The police will be transparent in conveying details of scientific evidence pertaining to the case to the public, he added.
The police will not make any assumption in conducting legal enforcement internally, according to the police spokesman.
The police will work according to the facts and legal evidence found at the crime scene and the process of finding proof in the case will also be conducted scientifically, he remarked.
The results of the evidence will be delivered directly by the Central Sulawesi Police Chief, and anyone found guilty will be dealt with firmly.
"Once again, it is our commitment to taking firm action against anyone found guilty," he remarked.
While police personnel were striving to disperse the rally in Parigi Moutong, one protester, identified by his name as Erfaldi, alias Aldi, 21, was shot on his chest and died.
The rally against gold mining activities by PT Trio Kencana in South Tnombo Sub-district was organized by a farmer's alliance, with participants comprising residents of three sub-districts in Parigi Moutong on Saturday (Feb 12, 2022).
Prasetyo expounded that the incident had occurred in Parigi Moutong when the local police attempted to disperse the rally that had blocked the Trans Sulawesi Road linking Central Sulawesi, Gorontalo, and North Sulawesi for approximately 10 hours. He remarked that the road blocking had occurred not just once but on several occasions.
The inspector general remarked that the police were left with no choice but to take firm action after having made attempts to prevent the rally from blocking the road and hindering economic activities. The police had offered mediation and dialogue with the protesters.
The police spokesman expressed his deepest condolences over the death of one of the protesters.
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Translator: Laily R, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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