Forum formed to anticipate unrest in South Sulawesi

UJUNGPANDANG (JP): A forum encompassing religious leaders and communities of different faiths was formed in the South Sulawesi capital on Wednesday to combat the threat of unrest spreading to the province.

The forum, which plans to target local youths, will organize a series of activities designed to bring together people of different religions and create a feeling of harmony. Joint activities planned include cleaning and renovating mosques, temples and churches.

Yusuf Kalla, a noted local businessman and Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) executive, said the youth had been targeted because they were considered the most likely group to become involved in clashes.

Thousands of refugees have flocked to Ujungpandang in the aftermath of recent riots in parts of Maluku and Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.

Wednesday's meeting, which took place in the Al Markaz Al Islami mosque, was initiated by the council, the Walubi Buddhist organization, the Indonesian Communion of Churches, Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia and a representative of the Bishop of Ujungpandang.

The forum also plans to organize district fora throughout the province to try to foster a common sense of identity and prevent further outbreaks of unrest.

The city was tense on Wednesday, with rumors of unrest keeping many commercial premises closed for the day. Shop-house owners throughout the city are working to install bars on windows and fences are being raised higher. Residents have yet to recover from the shock of an arson attack on one church here shortly after a wave of migrants returned home to the province in January in the aftermath of rioting in Kupang.

Ujungpandang military commander Lt. Col. S. Widjarnarko said he was looking into the rumors.

Meanwhile in Salatiga, Central Java, angry mobs destroyed around 80 homes on Wednesday. Police chief Lt. Col. Beno Kilapong said the unrest may have been triggered by a dispute with a property developer. "Mobs arrived in trucks and set about destroying homes and looting window sills, roof and ceramic tiles," he said.

Separately, Antara quoted a Maj. Gen. A.R. Gaffar as saying that uniformed and plainclothes security personnel had been deployed on the streets of Medan after rumors circulated that "hundreds of provocateurs had been sent from Jakarta to stir up unrest" in the city.

Gaffar, who leads the regional military command responsible for security in northern Sumatra, said intelligence reports suggested the provocateurs planned to enter Medan on board two buses and two pick-up trucks.

From Surabaya, the agency quoted East Java Police chief Maj. Gen. M. Dayat as saying that policemen would be asked to resign if they were not prepared to shoot criminals when necessary. Also on Wednesday, the new Surabaya Police chief Col. Bambang Sutrisno said that between three and four suspected criminals were shot in East Java every day.

"We're forced to shoot them when they resist arrest. What is most annoying is that they almost always wound their victims first."

"This week around 200 criminals have been shot and immobilized," he added. (27/har/anr)