26 arrested over Bangkalan violence
SURABAYA (JP): Twenty-six people were arrested during fresh rioting in the Madurese town of Bangkalan Saturday night, police said yesterday.
East Java Police spokesman Lt. Col. Sofwat Hadi told The Jakarta Post that Bangkalan was calm yesterday but the authorities remained on high alert.
He said Bangkalan, together with other hotspots on Madura island and in East Java -- like Situbondo, Pasuruan and Jember -- were being closely watched for possible unrest.
The violence began at around 8 p.m. at the residence of the Bangkalan regent Djakfar Safi'i, where a thanksgiving party was being thrown for the town winning the prestigious national Adipura award for its cleanliness.
The rioters, believed to be United Development Party (PPP) supporters, stormed the arena -- plunging the revelry into disarray.
They rampaged through the town until midnight when police and troops were able to control them, witnesses said.
It was the second riot to hit Bangkalan recently. The first occurred on May 29 when PPP supporters, who also rampaged in other towns on Madura, ran amok in protest at alleged vote- rigging.
A police officer sustained a serious injury after being knifed by a rioter Saturday night when trying to protect an official from the rioters. A church, a Buddhist temple, a cinema, three shops and three government vehicles were set on fire by the rioters, police said.
Regent Djakfar was quoted by the Suara Pembaruan newspaper as saying Saturday that hundreds of rioters "appeared from nowhere".
"The violence broke out while we were celebrating the Adipura award. Maybe some people did not like it and showed their disgust by rampaging," he said.
He refuted suggestions that the violence was linked to some PPP supporters' objections to the poll results.
PPP Bangkalan branch chairman Fuad Amin also denied that the violence had anything to do with the party's dissatisfaction with the election results.
Fuad said that although his branch had accused officials of poll fraud during the May 29 general election, they had finally accepted the results.
PPP lost to the government-backed Golkar in Sampang.
Fuad theorized that the people were possibly angered by the noise from the party which was near the Bangkalan grand mosque.
"People here are still hurt by the poll results they believe were full of fraud, while ulemas' objections were not heeded," he said. "The regent should have held such a celebration in a stadium, not in front of the mosque."
Fuad regretted the burnings and attacks on government buildings and other faiths' places of worship, saying that the incident hurt the nation's long-fostered sense of unity and integration.
"We suspect that some irresponsible people were out to tarnish our party's image through this violence. We highly appreciate the action of the security forces, who quickly coordinated with us to quell the unrest," Fuad said. (26/aan)