Ahmadiyah demands safety guarantee

BANDUNG: The West Java office of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation demanded on Friday that the police ensure the safety of its followers following Monday's attacks on its mosques and properties in Cianjur.

The congregation's lawyer Arif Yogiawan said hundreds of Ahmadiyah followers living in Cianjur, 100 kilometers south of Bandung, remained vulnerable to raids by hard-liners although 12 people had been arrested by the police in connection with Monday's violence. It was the second attack on Ahmadiyah since a mob vandalized its main office in Bogor in July.

Arif of the Bandung Legal Aid Institute said Ahmadiyah followers in the Cianjur villages of Cibeber and Campaka had come under threat and intimidation despite the police probe into the incident.

The lawyer estimated his client's material losses at no less than Rp 300 million (nearly US$30,000) from Monday's attack on four mosques, 89 houses and several shops belonging to the congregation. -- JP