Pekalongan still tense after riot<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of police and military officers were
\nremained on alert yesterday after a racially-charged riot on
\nWednesday in Pekalongan, Central Java.<\/p>\n
An anonymous police source told The Jakarta Post there was
\ntension in town of more than 130,000 people, 325 kilometers east
\nof Jakarta, after another smaller incident yesterday afternoon.<\/p>\n
A group of people, leaving a mosque after saying their Friday
\nprayers, took to the street and began to stone shops as they
\npassed by.<\/p>\n
The source said that the security personnel were able to
\ncontrol the violence in a relatively short time before it spread.
\nThere was no report of damages or casualties however, officers
\nremained posted along some of the town's main streets.<\/p>\n
In the first rioting on Wednesday, people ransacked shops and
\nproperty believed to be owned by ethnic Chinese. The riots
\nreportedly started after a mentally ill man abused the holy book
\nof a certain religion on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
Brig. Gen. Djoko Subroto, the chief of staff of the Diponegoro
\nMilitary Command, however, had specifically appealed to the
\nMoslem community for restraint.<\/p>\n
The reported abuse of the holy book was not intended to insult
\nthe particular religion, Djoko said. \"The man was of unsound mind
\nand his family were not aware of his behavior,\" Djoko said.
\n\"Don't be easily provoked by malicious rumors ...\"<\/p>\n
The Post source reiterated Djoko's call and said the
\nmisunderstanding was resolved in a meeting between the man's
\nfamily, local officials and the local chapter of the Indonesian
\nCouncil of Ulemas (MUI).<\/p>\n
The Pekalongan incident was the second outbreak of ethnic
\nviolence reported on Java in the past two months.<\/p>\n
Last month hundreds of people in Purwakarta, West Java, rioted
\nafter a 14-year-old girl, accused of stealing chocolates, was
\nbeaten by staff of a Chinese-owned department store. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pekalongan-still-tense-after-riot-1447893297",
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