Riau people demand replacement of police chief

Residents groped in the council for the sovereignty of the Riau people have asked the replacement of the police chief in the province's oil town of Dumai following the shooting of four civilians during a protest against state oil and gas Pertamina early this week.

The council said that it had sent a letter to the chief of the regional police headquarter in Pekanbaru to ask the replacement of Superintendent Arief Wahyudi, the council's secretary Fauzi Kadir told reporters. "We want the chief of the police office in Dumai to be fired soon," he added.

Fauzi said that the council also asked the chief of the regional police office to bring all the police members who were responsible on the shooting to be taken to court.

Four residents suffered shot injuries when the police opened warning shootings to disperse about hundreds of residents who blocked the gate leading to a housing complex of the state owned oil and gas company Pertamina.

The angry residents, who demanded a fair compensation for 1,305 hectares of land, allegedly unlawfully seized by Pertamina for the housing complex refused to leave the place despite the warnings.

The land dispute began in 1973 when Pertamina acquired land from local residents for the construction of its housing complex. But not all of rightful residents received the compensation payment for their properties from the company. (*)