The Indonesian government on Thursday threatened to deploy the army to evict supporters of the governor of Papua who gathered outside his home to prevent his possible arrest as a suspect in a corruption case.

Hundreds of residents of Indonesia’s restive Far Eastern province, who have rallied in recent days in support of Governor Lukas Enembe, say the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has targeted him with false accusations.

“If they are under the influence of Lukas Enembe, the TNI [the Indonesian Armed Forces] can be deployed if needed. What else can we do?” Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko told reporters in Jakarta.

Enembe failed to respond to two KPK summonses in connection with a case in which he is accused of accepting 1 billion rupees ($65,798) in bribes related to a government project, according to Mohammad Mahfud MD, Coordinating Minister for Political and Legal Affairs. and security matters.

Enembe’s lawyers said he did not respond to summonses because he was ill, adding that the governor had suffered strokes and heart and kidney problems. Moeldoko said Enembe should respect legal process instead of mobilizing his supporters to obstruct the investigation.

On Wednesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo urged Enembe to “respect [the] summons and legal proceedings at the KPK” after Enembe failed to show up for a second interrogation.

“It is purely a legal matter, not a political one. Everyone should be held accountable before the law. There are no exceptions,” Moeldoko said.

One of Enembe’s lawyers, Stefanus Roy Rening, said on Tuesday that the charges against his client were politically motivated. He added that his client rejected a candidate for deputy governor proposed by two close associates of Jokowi after the death of his deputy last year.

A spokesperson for Enembe did not immediately respond to a request for comment. KPK spokesman Ali Fikri said investigators would summon Enembe again for questioning. “We hope the suspect will cooperate,” Ali said.

Ali said that if Enembe was ill as claimed by his lawyer, he could still come to Jakarta and undergo medical checks under the supervision of the Indonesian Medical Association.

Separately, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) said it froze 71 billion rupees ($4.7 million) in Enembe’s bank accounts after discovering that $55 million had been transferred through casinos. overseas in connection with an alleged money laundering scheme.

Enembe’s lawyers dismissed the charges as fabricated.

“The public statements of Mahfud MD and the PPATK Chairman amount to defamation against Governor Lukas Enembe and are hoaxes,” Enembe’s legal team said in a statement on Monday.

Last week, thousands of people took to the streets of the provincial capital Jayapura to show their support for Enembe.

Papua has been the scene of a separatist insurgency since the mostly Melanesian region was incorporated into Indonesia in a United Nations-administered ballot in the late 1960s.

Only about 1,000 people voted in a UN-sponsored referendum in 1969, which residents and activists called a sham. But the United Nations accepted the result, essentially endorsing Jakarta’s rule.

Human rights groups have accused Indonesian authorities of intimidation, arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings and mass forced displacement in Papua.

“An inappropriate threat”

Moeldoko’s statement was not well thought out and could fuel hostilities against Jakarta among Papuans, according to Ujang Komarudin, a professor of political science at Indonesia’s Al Azhar University.

“Moeldoko did not carefully review his statements. It was an inappropriate threat,” Ujang told BenarNews.

“Although I think the deployment of troops is unlikely, it may increase negative perceptions of the government. Relations between Papua and the government may become increasingly uncomfortable,” he said.

Another analyst criticized Moeldoko’s “poor” communication.

“The [statement] the deployment of troops can be spontaneous, but it is a bit excessive because it is vulnerable to politicization,” Wasisto Raharjo Jati, political analyst at the National Agency for Research and Innovation (BRIN), told BenarNews.

Also, officials should not have publicly commented on Enembe’s case, said Adnan Topan Husodo, an activist with the NGO Indonesia Corruption Watch.

“Now it’s getting more and more chaotic because some members of Jakarta’s elite have gotten into the legal case, which has provoked strong reactions in Papua,” he told BenarNews.