Troops remain on alert in Bagansiapi-api<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of security personnel were on standby
\nin the fishing town of Bagansiapi-api in Riau province on
\nWednesday after a riot erupted there the previous day.<\/p>\n
Bengkalis Police chief Lt. Col. Luther Harefa said the riot
\nerupted on Tuesday evening following rumors that Chinese-
\nIndonesians had killed a native Indonesian following a minor
\naccident.<\/p>\n
\"The rumor said that the man died at the hospital in
\nPakanbaru,\" Luther said, referring to the provincial town some
\n200 kilometers southeast of Bagansiapi-api. The indigenous man
\nwas reportedly hit on the nose with a piece of wood, Luther said.<\/p>\n
He said that about 400 houses, shops and buildings were burned
\nand 31 looters and three alleged agitators were arrested during
\nthe riot. The violence began at about 8 p.m., he said.<\/p>\n
Luther also said that Bukit Barisan Military Commander Maj.
\nGen. Ismed Yuzairi visited the town on Wednesday afternoon and
\nmet with local community and religious leaders.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that 300 security personnel from Pakanbaru and
\nDumai were deployed to the town early on Wednesday to control the
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
Riau Police spokesman Maj. S. Pandiangan said the
\nreinforcements were from the regional police, the police's Mobile
\nBrigade and the Army.<\/p>\n
Pandiangan also said there were no reports of injuries and
\nthat the authorities had yet to estimate the material losses
\nresulting from the riot.<\/p>\n
The local leader of the Communication Forum for National
\nUnity, Candra, was quoted by the news agency as saying that on
\nTuesday evening people ran amok throughout the city damaging
\nshops, houses and buildings.<\/p>\n
Some of the people were seen carrying sharp weapons.<\/p>\n
Candra said that the mob then began throwing plastic bags
\nfilled with gasoline on the roofs of houses and shops along the
\nstreets.<\/p>\n
He said that security personnel could not control the
\nsituation as they were outnumbered by the rioters.<\/p>\n
Owners of the burned shops were sheltered by their relatives
\nin the nearby towns of Dumai, Bengkalis and Pakanbaru.<\/p>\n
Some of them were also reportedly holed up in the subdistrict
\nand deputy regent's offices.<\/p>\n
Candra also said that the riot was triggered by a brawl
\nbetween Chinese-Indonesians and indigenous Sumatrans following a
\ntraffic accident. But he said the accident was on Sunday, not
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
\"Actually the incident had been settled, but on Tuesday there
\nwas a rumor that one of the natives died when he was rushed to
\nthe hospital in Pakanbaru,\" he told Antara.<\/p>\n
In Samarinda, East Kalimantan, hundreds of public
\ntransportation drivers went on strike to protest the skyrocketing
\nprices of automotive parts. Similar protests by public transport
\ndrivers had triggered riots in Medan, North Sumatra on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of school children, housewives and employees had to
\nwalk to their destinations or scramble on board the few minivans
\nthat dared to operate.<\/p>\n
The striking drivers gathered in a parking lot of the Segiri
\nsports hall under the watchful eyes of dozens of security
\npersonnel.<\/p>\n
State television station TVRI reported that the strike ended
\npeacefully later in the afternoon after a dialog with the mayor.<\/p>\n
In Parepare, South Sulawesi, thousands of people reportedly
\ndamaged five houses owned by the administrators of a local
\ncooperative, Kospin, on Wednesday which had allegedly cheated on
\npeople.<\/p>\n
The angry mob broke down doors and looted valuables from
\ninside the houses, from which the administrators fled. Roofs and
\nwindows were shattered.<\/p>\n
Security personnel did not try to stop the rampage as they
\nwere only seen guarding the area to prevent the unrest from
\nspreading.<\/p>\n
Shop owners throughout the town some 250 kilometers north of
\nthe provincial city of Ujungpandang, however, immediately closed
\ntheir businesses.<\/p>\n
It was the latest incident in South Sulawesi after thousands
\nof people clashed with security personnel preventing them from
\nforcing their way into the same cooperative in the nearby town of
\nPinrang on Tuesday .<\/p>\n
The violence was reportedly triggered by people's anger over
\nthe Kospin cooperative's failure to return their money.<\/p>\n
Wirabuana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Suaidi Marasabessy said
\npeople had been tempted by Kospin's promise that they could get
\n50 percent interest per week if they deposited money with the
\ncooperative. (21\/30\/byg)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/troops-remain-on-alert-in-bagansiapi-api-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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