The rioting was triggered by the failure of the oil company, a consortium between state-owned oil/gas firm Pertamina and PT Medco E&P Tomori to build public facilities and electricity networks for the locals based on its promise years ago.
"The company has promised locals in the past to build public facilities and electricity networks but it has not yet realized it until now," Central Sulawesi Police Chief Brig Gen Dewa Parsana said.
Because the promise was not kept, the local people gathered and vented their discontent by visiting Tiaka Island, one of the company`s assets. They were disappointed after they failed to meet the management of the company.
"They wanted to negotiate with the boss of the firm but they failed because the boss was still in Jakarta," Dewa said.
The angry mob then vandalized the office building and facilities of the company and pelted its oil well with Molotov cocktails that caused it to catch fire. They also took hostage three policemen and a soldier.
The angry mob`s indiscriminate action forced the apparatuses in the field to fire warning shots before aiming their fire at the rioters, he said.
"Thank God, we were able to arrest 19 rioters," Central Sulawesi Police Chief Brig Gen Dewa Parsana said on the sidelines of a fast-breaking dinner here on Monday evening.
He said the 19 rioters were arrested because they acted unlawfully, conducted vandalism and held hostage a number of employees of Pertamina`s JOB.
The 19 rioters are now being held at the Morowali police headquarters for further questioning and investigation, he said.
Police planned to take the 19 rioters to the Central Sulawesi Regional Police Headquarters in Palu city for examinations and investigations.
"They are still in Morowali now, but I have ordered my subordinates to take them to Palu so that we can examine and investigate the incident safely and smoothly," the Central Sulawesi police chief said.
In the meantime, Morowali Resort Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Suhirman when contacted through his cellular phone said the angry mob pelted an oil well belonging to the consortium on Tiaka island with Molotov cocktails.
Suhirman only said that the incident began on Sunday but on Monday afternoon all of a sudden hundreds of people from mainland Mamosalato entered the island by motor boats and began vandalizing the joint oil companies` facilities.
"They were armed with machetes, spears, sickles and Molotov cocktails. They then vandalized the company`s offices and facilities," he said.
In order to protect residents, police evacuated residents from Tiaka Island following the rioting in which angry mobs tried to destroy the oil well.
The situation was still tense and Suhirman said he still did not know whether there were casualties in the incident.
"Angry mobs pelted the oil well which has a high H2S content with molotov cocktails. If the oil well explodes it will release dangerous poison. Therefore we decided to evacuate local residents who are all employees of the Pertamina-Medco consortium," Suhirman said.
Tiaka Island is located in Mamosalato subdistrict, Morowali district, Central Sulawesi province. Suhirman could not provide more details yet because police were still busy evacuating residents. They were evacuated using motor boats with a capacity of about 60 passengers each.
In the meantime, ANTARA correspondent reported from neighboring district of Luwuk that the Luwuk General Hospital was alerted to receive patients who had become victims in the rioting in Tiaka.
"We have received information that one victim died on his way to the hospital but the body will still be taken to Luwuk for an autopsy," a source who refused to be named said.
By 9.30 pm local time, one victim had been admitted to the Luwuk General Hospital. The victim, named Andre M Sondeng (25), was in critical condition and was receiving intensive medical treatment at the hospital, according to the victim`s uncle, Rahman.
Andre is a resident of Kolo Bawah village, Mamosalato subdistrict. He arrived at the hospital at 21.30 local time after a trip for 4 hours from Mamosalato, Morowali district.
Journalists were not allowed to approach the victim at the hospital. "Andre was shot on his right chest. The projectile still lodged in his chest," Rahman said.
Rahman said that the demonstration actually began on Sunday. About 100 residents visited to Tiaka Island by two motorboats. They wanted to meet with the Pertamina-Medco E&P Tomiro Joint Operating Body (JOB) but they failed to meet the company's management on that day.
Therefore, on Monday they came again on two motorboats. They wanted to convey their demand that the firm realize its promise it had made years ago.
"I don`t know how clashes came about with police who opened fires at the demonstrators," Rahman said.
Central Sulawesi Police Chief Dewa Parsana said that his side had dispatched 100 personnel from the mobile brigade police to Morowali district to maintain security in Tiaka Island after the riot.
"We have sent 100 Mobile Brigade police from the Luwuk company," Dewa Parsana said.
(SYS/A014)
Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
