The usually calm Balinese Hindu holiday of Galungan got tense yesterday when police arrested a local man.
Hundreds of Balinese from different banjars (local Balinese neighborhoods) demonstrated in front of Bali Police headquarters to argue with the arrest of I Gusti Putu Dharmawijaya aka Gung Omleth on Wednesday.
Though it was unclear at the time why Omleth was brought into police custody, there was a strong suspicion amongst the crowd that it was because of Omleth’s involvement in ‘Tolak Reklmasi’ (anti-reclamation) protests of Benoa Bay.
Videos posted to Twitter show hundreds of people chanting, criticizing police for criminalizing Tolak Reklamsi protesters.
The crowd was also apparently upset about the poor timing of Omleth’s arrest, falling on such a special Balinese holiday.
“It’s the celebration of Galungan, the day where Dharma (good) wins against Adharma (evil). Virtue defeats evil,” some protesters screamed at Bali Police’s doorstep last night, as quoted by Inddit.
Bali Police Chief Insp. Sugeng Priyanto has commented on Omleth’s arrest. The police chief said Omleth was taken into police custody as a suspect for lowering the red and white Indonesian national flag during a Tolak Reklamasi protest.
Priyanto said the Indonesian flag was lowered in front of the parliament building on August 25, 2016.
“Bali Police interrogated the suspected perpetrator about taking down the red and white flag,” Priyanto told Tribun Bali via SMS on Thursday.
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