Papua reports 5 dead in election violence

JAKARTA, April 9 (UPI) -- At least five people died and a police station was attacked Thursday in Papua as Indonesian voters went to the polls, officials said.
Police said overnight violence in Papua could be part of an effort to undermine elections in the eastern province, where separatists have been calling for its independence, the Indonesian news agency Antara reported.
Police killed one man during the assault on the post. Elsewhere three motorcycle taxi drivers were knifed to death and a girl was killed when a fuel depot caught fire, officials in Papua said.
Voting elsewhere was proceeding violence-free, the agency said. The election is the third election since the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998.
Voters were asked to choose among thousands of candidates on local, provincial and national levels to determine who can run for president in an election in July, Antara said.

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