Some 2,000 city security officers and 600 police used tear gas, water cannons and batons to beat back the protesters near the country’s main seaport of Tanjung Priok in northern Jakarta, city spokesman Cucu Kurnia said. Police estimated the number of protesters at 500.
The protesters threw rocks and petrol bombs, setting fire to at least five police vehicles and destroying dozens of others.
The protesters believed city officials were trying to remove the tomb of an Arab cleric who helped spread Islam in North Jakarta in the 18th century.
The tomb is located on land claimed by the state-run seaports operator Pelindo II.
Local media reported that at least two people were killed in the violence, and footage seen on Metro TV showed one city security officer lying on the ground motionless with his stomach area blurred out. The officer had reportedly been disemboweled.
Jakarta police spokesman Col. Boy Rafli Amar said reports of deaths were wrong. “At least seven police were injured quite badly and we still have not received complete information on how many protesters were wounded,” Amar said.
“Police are finding it difficult to disperse the protesters, who are armed.” Kurnia said 90 people had been injured in the clashes and seven were in critical condition.
A nurse who answered the phone at the local hospital where the wounded were being taken said she did not have the exact number of injured but that hospital rooms were packed with people bleeding and bruised. She hung up without giving her name.
Footage on Metro TV showed one police officer with his hand cut off and several protesters beaten by police and dragged away bleeding.
Fist fights broke out between protesters and security officials, while burning tires and cars sent a cloud of black smoke over the port area.
Kurnia denied that city officials had tried to demolish the tomb, saying the city wanted to remove illegal squatters nearby.
“We did not intend to demolish the tomb but we want to evict the illegal settlers. In fact the local government wanted to preserve or restore the tomb,” city spokesman Kurnia said.
