FPI attacks billiard center

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Islamic New Year was marked by an attack by hundreds of members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) on the Mekar Jaya billiard center in Casablanca, South Jakarta, early on Friday morning.

As with other raids staged by the group, the police failed to prevent the vandalism from taking place.

City police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanegara could only call on the group not to take the law into their own hands.

"They could have reported to the police which spots remained open during the holiday celebration rather than staging raids," he said.

Makbul did not say if any FPI members had been arrested for the violent raid.

The FPI members arrived at Mekar Jaya at about 2:30 a.m. and immediately entered the billiard center, which the group accused of failing to respect the Islamic holy day. The appearance of the group caused panic among visitors.

The FPI members began to smash windows and turn billiard tables upside down. The violence was quickly over and the FPI members then left the scene.

Before staging the raid on the billiard center, the group went to several pubs and discotheques on Jl. Blora in Central Jakarta and demanded that the nightspots close their doors for the night.

Because the nightspots were quick to give in to the threats, the group did not vandalize the establishments. Dozens of police officers were seen patrolling the Jl. Blora area prior to the arrival of the FPI.

Earlier on Friday, the group, whose headquarters is located on Jl. Petamburan III in Central Jakarta, went to a discotheque in Plaza Hayam Wuruk in West Jakarta and demanded the management close the establishment. A short argument ensued before the management gave in to the threats.

This is not the first time the group has attacked nightspots. Last December, the group raided pubs and cafes in Tebet, South Jakarta, and a year earlier it destroyed cafes in Kemang, South Jakarta.