'Third party' masterminded riot, rights body says<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The recent riots in Tasikmalaya, West Java, and
\nSanggau Ledo, West Kalimantan, were masterminded by a \"third
\nparty\", the National Commission on Human Rights has found.<\/p>\n
Announcing the results of their investigation into the
\nincidents late Tuesday night, commission officials declined to
\nname the alleged masterminds but urged the authorities to capture
\nthem soon.<\/p>\n
Commission secretary-general Baharuddin Lopa said the culprits
\nhad managed to mobilize the crowds and escalate individual
\nconflicts into mob violence.<\/p>\n
The Dec. 26 Tasikmalaya riot was sparked by the beating up of
\nthree Islamic boarding school teachers by police officers.
\nThe teachers had been summoned by police to explain a claim they
\nhad punished a policeman's son at the school for stealing his
\nclassmates' money.<\/p>\n
Angry mobs went on the rampage, attacking shops, churches,
\nfactories and police posts. The riot, which developed into an
\nanti-Chinese attack, left four people dead.<\/p>\n
Lopa said the rights violated in the incident included the
\nright to religious freedom and the right to work.<\/p>\n
He said the unrest stemmed from economic disparity. His team
\nof investigators saw leaflets calling people to take to the
\nstreets.<\/p>\n
He praised the way people were maintaining the peace and said
\nMoslems and Christians had co-existed peacefully, a situation
\nthey would like to bring back to Tasikmalaya.<\/p>\n
Lopa called for officials' to be sensitive to the matter and
\nfor security forces to anticipate potential unrest and coordinate
\naccordingly.<\/p>\n
He said the unrest in Sanggau Ledo, sparked over a personal
\ndispute over a woman between people of two ethnic groups, was a
\nsocial conflict whose root cause had not been entirely resolved.<\/p>\n
The ensuing violence forced the evacuation of over 5,000
\npeople to nearby Singkawang. Five people were killed and many
\nhouses were burned.<\/p>\n
\"The use of violence to solve problems is regrettable, it is
\nessential to continually develop mutual understanding among the
\nethnic groups,\" Lopa said.<\/p>\n
He said there had been violations to the right to life,
\nfreedom and the right to property in the incident.<\/p>\n
\"The system and process of resettlement has to be redefined
\ntogether with the local people to increase their living
\nstandards,\" he said.<\/p>\n
For both cases, he urged the government to take immediate
\naction to reduce economic disparities. He praised officials'
\nefforts in Singkawang to keep the situation under control.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the court in Situbondo has charged two Moslems with
\nmasterminding the Oct. 10 religious riot that saw shops, a
\ncourthouse and 25 churches attacked in the small town.<\/p>\n
The two were among the 54 people tried on charges of rioting.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, senior lawyer Frans Hendra Winarta said law
\nenforcement, an equitable social and economic environment and
\nreal awareness from officials about the problems affecting
\nIndonesia were the keys to maintaining stability.<\/p>\n
He told The Jakarta Post the cause of the recent unrests in
\nSitubondo, Tasikmalaya and Sanggau Ledo stemmed from economic
\ndisparities and a legal and political system that did not truly
\nmeet the people's aspirations.<\/p>\n
In addition, the likelihood of outbreaks of violence became
\ngreater when people's rights were reduced, denied and ignored, he
\nsaid. (01)<\/p>",
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