Call to summon police chief gets cool welcome

The call by some members of the Legislative Council in South Sumatera to summon the local police chief to explain the police's recent action against workers of PT Sumber Mitra Jaya has received a cool welcome from the council's chairman, Palembang Post reported on Tuesday.

Gafar Guna, the vice chairman of the council, said on Monday that the council did not have enough reason to summon the police chief because they had carried out their jobs properly according to standard procedures.

"If we summon the police, it is not merely because the incident but because we want to know from them about the security situation in the province," he said.

The local police recently opened fires when they tried to disperse protesting workers at the office of the state owned coal producer PT Bukit Asam and its contractor Sumber Mitra.

At least 22 protesters were injured in the incident, mostly women and children. Three of victims suffered bullet injuries. The daily said that amongst the victims also included pregnant women, who joined their husbands to get a fair compensation from the company.

Hundreds of the former workers of Sumber Mitra seized tens of Sumber Mitra vehicles as the company refused to meet their demand, while their wives and children stayed over night at nearby Bukit Asam office. (*)