More school burning in Aceh Besar regency

JAKARTA (JP): Another attempt to torch a school building has been reported in Aceh Besar regency, where a state high school was targeted early on Saturday.

Antara reported on Monday from Banda Aceh that the attempt to set fire to the State High School (SMU) I in Krueng Raya had only damaged part of the principal's office.

Police chief Lt. Col. Deddy Suryadi said the arson attack was committed by four unidentified people.

Deddy said the attacks that damaged dozens of schools in East and North Aceh, Pidie, South Aceh and West Aceh, were "similar to that targeting the SMU I in Krueng Raya".

The attempt on Saturday was foiled by the school security guard, he said.

"The four men vanished into the night after they tried to light a fire in the principal's room," Deddy said. The security guard caught them in action and they fled, after which he put out the fire assisted by his wife, Deddy said.

Losses at SMU I were estimated at Rp 500 million. Continued coordination with the Ministry of Education and Culture and the provincial administration was being conducted to prevent further incidents, Deddy said.

In Jakarta, the military headquarters reported that armed rebels in Aceh were "continuing to terrorize residents" causing them to flee their villages, while rights activists have said it is military operations which have scared villagers out of their homes.

A statement from the headquarters said rebels set fire to a minivan on Saturday in Laweung district, Pidie.

Separately in Semarang, Central Java, protests continued on Monday over the violence in Aceh.

About 300 youths of the Surakarta Muslim Youth Front demanded that the military and police prevent violence and that past alleged rights abuse during the 10-year military operation be settled through the courts.

They also demanded investigations into killings victimizing Muslims in ethnic and religious violence in the past year, among other places in Maluku, West Kalimantan and East Java.(anr)