Fresh riot shakes Pekalongan, leaving several stores damaged

PEKALONGAN, Central Java (JP): Fresh unrest erupted here yesterday leaving several stores damaged, according to residents still weary after politically motivated riots two weeks earlier.

Pekalongan Police Chief Col. Solichin confirmed yesterday's riot but said it had been immediately contained. "Everything is under control and a number of rioters are being questioned at the police precinct now," he said.

Details of the riot were sketchy. Residents said one person had been stabbed, but it was not clear whether it was fatal. Solichin, however, told The Jakarta Post there had been no deaths or people injured "even though there was an explosion".

He refused to give details about the explosion or the number of people arrested.

Solichin did not say whether yesterday's riot was connected to the previous one, but Reuter quoted another officer as confirming a link.

Reports said the riot started with a crowd gathering in the Kradenan village Saturday night during a Koranic class given by three local Moslem preachers.

Among the preachers was K.H. Afifuddin Musytari, who had been summoned by police over allegations that he masterminded the March 26 riot in this coastal town some 300 kilometer east of Jakarta. The first riot erupted after local officials removed the banners of the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP).

A resident said that after the Koranic class, which lasted until early Sunday, the crowd started removing the flags and banners of the ruling political grouping Golkar which were all over the place.

Security personnel then chased them away in the direction of Buaran district some seven kilometers away.

The resident, a businessman, said the masses set up roadblocks, dumping logs and garbage bins in the officers' way. He also said a group of people had on Friday staged a demonstration outside the Pekalongan police precinct demanding that their friends, detained since the previous riot, be released.

Another source said that after the class, the crowd moved directly toward the shopping center on Jl. Urip Sumoharjo in Buaran, shouting all the way Allahu Akbar (Allah is Great).

They then broke into a motorcycle dealer store, dragged out seven motorcycles and set them on fire. They also burned several other shops, a ketchup warehouse and a truck garage, the source said.

Troops moved to contain the unrest about one hour after it broke out. Antara quoted Col. Amirul Isnaeni of the local military division as saying that security personnel were still stationed at the site of the rioting.

"Despite seeing the security officers, the rioters still tried to rampage further. They fled only after the officers fired some warning shots," the Post source said.

Thirty people were detained and tried for the March 26 riot. They were sentenced to terms ranging from three days to three months for their involvement in the riot which left a number of stores and properties of local ethnic Chinese damaged. (wah/5)