Eight arrested in fresh riot in Pekalongan
PEKALONGAN, Central Java (JP): Fresh riots erupted here early Tuesday when an angry mob attacked the housing complex of local government officials, police said yesterday.
Pekalongan police chief Col. Solichin told The Jakarta Post that the riot, the fourth to hit the batik coastal town since late March, caused minor damage. Eight rioters were arrested.
The unrest, involving hundreds of people believed to be supporters of the Moslem-oriented United Development Party (PPP), was quelled by security officers.
One resident said the violence was politically motivated. The rioting broke out after PPP sympathizers returned home from a lecture led by four distinguished Islamic religious figures Tohir, Munarir, Mansyur and Afifudin.
Security personnel said the prayer session was attended by "thousands" of Moslems and lasted until 2 a.m. without incident. But the unrest climaxed when rioters began throwing stones at officials' houses in Bina Griya Indah housing complex.
Police questioned Afifudin for eight and a half hours Tuesday on suspicion of triggering the unrest. He was accompanied by four attorneys from the Semarang-based Sultan Agung Islamic University.
The attorneys requested Central Java police limit the questioning so as not to affect Afifudin's health.
Winarto, one of the suspect's lawyers, said Afifudin was required to answer 28 questions referring to upsetting the public and unflattering portrayals of other Moslem religious leaders, election committee members and the government.
Pekalongan, 300 kilometers east of Jakarta, has been continually hit by riots since March 26. The unrest was sparked by pop singer Rhoma Irama's change of party allegiance from PPP to Golkar and the replacement of PPP banners with Golkar's in the town.
The removal led people to burn the stage for Rhoma Irama's concert, which would be attended by President Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana.
The incident escalated to a mob of 1,000 people burning and damaging property and 60 buildings belonging mainly to ethnic Chinese. Eight people were injured in scuffles with security personnel.
Thirty people have been sentenced to jail from three days to three months for their involvement in the March 26 riot.
Meanwhile, in Surakarta (Solo), police broke up a street rally by supporters of ousted Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri, but denied arresting any protesters.
A Jakarta Post reporter saw police officers club PDI activists and throw three motorcycles onto a patrol truck.
Megawati, who was in town to attend the wedding of one of her loyalists' relatives, said she was appalled by the continuing harassment of her supporters.
Separately, two senior members of the National Commission on Human Rights have urged police in Central Java to use restraint in handling unrest in the region.
The commission's Secretary-General Baharuddin Lopa and his colleague Maj. Gen. (ret.) Soegiri said yesterday that the police should not become trigger-happy in using rubber bullets against the rioters.
The two commission members yesterday visited the riot-stricken area on a fact-finding mission, Antara reported. (har/bsr/01)