Clash marks church anniversary

Sat, 24 Jun 2000, 00:00 WIB | Source: JP

BANDUNG: A clash flared up on Friday when two disputing groups
of the Protestant Christian Batak Association (HKBP) church
congregations fought over the venue to celebrate the church's
65th anniversary.

At least 10 people were injured and a car was burned during
the brawl pitting supporters of reverend A. Sitorus and S.L.
Simanjuntak. No casualties were reported as of Friday evening.

One of Simanjuntak's followers claimed to have booked the
church since May for the celebration. A mass service and a
seminar titled "The Role of Christian Youth in the Society" were
planned for the special day.

However, when they arrived there in the morning, the front
gate was locked while around 30 Sitorus' supporters were inside
attending their own seminar titled "Christian Family, Joyful
Family".

The angry Simanjuntak followers started to hurl stones and
plastic bottles, but their rivals fought back.

Hundreds of riot police were deployed to restore order. They
set up a roadblock to avoid the clash from resuming. (25/bby)

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