Boy gets 7 years for inciting riot

Boy gets 7 years for inciting riot

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: The Pontianak district court
sentenced on Thursday a teenage boy to seven years in jail for
inciting clashes between Madurese refugees and local people in
Pontianak, a report stated.

Fauzi, a 16-year-old boy, was found guilty of inciting the
clashes between June 23 and 25 this year, according to the panel
of judges.

The ethnic clashes claimed four lives, with dozens of others
injured. The incidents also resulted in the Pontianak badminton
hall, sheltering 120 refugees, being burned down.

The clashes erupted after the seizure of Madurese refugee
Busrah's family belongings by the Dayak local Fauzi, who was
assisted by his friends Sani, Rahmudin and Syamsul.

During the seizure, Busrah's son Fery, 6, was killed, thereby
inflaming the already tense relationship between the two
community's within the town.

The refugees are Madurese migrants who have fled ethnic
clashes in Sambas since 1999. They were temporarily accommodated
in public facilities, such as sport halls, stadiums and a Haj
dormitory in Pontianak.

The provincial administration tried to persuade the refugees
to move to housing complexes specially built for them in
relocation areas, but many refused to do so. (46/09)