ION evacuate public office after accidental killing of civilian
Protests intensify after Ratu Bavara was shot during traffic stop
Protests against the continued presence of ION Services have intensified in La Rochelle, Horizon Islands.
The long-controversial Private Military Company was involved in the accidental killing of Ratu Bavadra, a port worker and part-time TikTok influencer during a routine checkpoint stop. Bavadra was traveling toward Doodstil, a bigger village on the east of the Moddergat island, to visit and support his ailing mother.
He was stopped by ION contractors who, despite having valid identification, confused him with a wanted fugitive. Bavadra, perturbed by the situation, attempted to produce more identification from his car’s glove box, which was confused by a second contractor as him reaching for a firearm. Feeling ’threatened’, he shot Bavadra in his car. Emergency services pronounced him dead on the scene.
ION Services called the incident ‘regrettable’ and promised cooperation to clear the case up in a press release. The long-controversial Private Military Company were contracted by the local law enforcement and paramilitary organization earlier this year to counter the growing lawlessness in the Northern Division of the Horizon Islands and help secure key facilities, such as the port installations. As a result of the sheer number of protests, they have now elected to evacuate their public branch office to ‘maintain the safety of their office workers’.
Thomas Martinez, the ION Coordinator for the Horizon Islands, initially promised full cooperation with law enforcement entities. During the course of the investigation, however, multiple pieces of evidence went missing, which resulted in the Gendarmerie ultimately dropping the investigation into the contractors. According to an ION statement, he had been receiving credible death threats from within the province.
The move was highly unpopular with citizens of the province, particularly those with native backgrounds, who decried the killing as a classic instance of racially motivated violence. The protests in his name have sprung up all over the province and lead to several clashes between Gendarmerie, ION and the protestors. Only minor injuries have been reported. Bavadra, himself a native, is survived by his mother Litia, his wife Charol and his younger brother Lucas.
Lucas, who has been a major force of organizing the protests, is widely involved within the Tanoan community. He works with local religious institutions to effectively administer aide and charity in the province. Himself a volunteer worker for IDAP, he had returned a little over a month ago from a deployment to the recovering Malden islands in North Africa.
“It’s devastating to see something like this happen, at home, with the same f—ing corporation that made so much trouble in a country you just left.” Bavadra said in an interview. “[I] come back, having experienced some of the violence that happened on Malden, just to have my own brother shot by them. So hell yeah, I mobilize people.”. He agreed with figureheads of the native community in the assertion that the killing had at least partially racist motivations, though he condemned violence against ION and Gendarmerie personnel.
Ratu, who was similarly well liked as his brother, worked as a transportation worker at the Blue Pearl international port. There, with blessing from his superiors, he produced short form content for TikTok during low-traffic hours and shifts, amassing over four million views and close a million subscribers on the platform. Ratu generally involved the other two members of his shift team, Michael van Veen and Jean Ducret. Along with his brother, he was also volunteered among the La Rochelle and Doodstil communities.
“It was a total shock to all of us.” Ducret said in an interview. “We couldn’t believe it, because the news had framed it like Ratu was in the wrong. It wasn’t until a week later that the ’truth’ came out and that he was actively trying to clear up the situation.
“Good lad, taken too soon from us”, states van Veen during an online chat with our reporter. “Such a unique and always positive dude. And all while he was trying to help his mom. Infuriating”. Van Veen has had a vocal and active part in the protests.
