N. Sulawesi villagers attack store

N. Sulawesi villagers attack store

JAKARTA (JP): A mob of about 200 villagers ransacked a store
in North Sulawesi's Gorontalo regency on Friday after its owner
allegedly insulted Islam, a police official said on Saturday.

But Gorontalo police chief Lt. Col. Priya Ismail denied an
Antara report that Shangrilla minimarket, owned by a Chinese-
Indonesian villager identified as Tommy, was set on fire in
Buntulia Selatan in Marisa subdistrict.

"No, it was not burned. The villagers, instead, dragged the
goods outside and set them on fire on the street," he told The
Jakarta Post by phone from Gorontalo.

Two nearby rest shelters for store employees were damaged by
fire, Priya added.

The unrest was purely due to a personal misunderstanding and
not religious strife or ethnic hostilities, Priya said.

The store was the only building targeted by the mob but local
community elders had vouched for Tommy's family's generosity, he
said.

The village is about 200 kilometers from the Gorontalo capital
of Limboto. Gorontalo, a predominantly Muslim regency, is about
250 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital of Manado.

Priya said the incident began when Rahman, an employee of
state-owned insurance company PT Jiwasraya, visited Tommy's store
on Thursday.

He said he overheard a conversation in which Tommy offered a
rug to a customer identified as Yantje.

Rahman was offended when he saw the item was actually a prayer
mat.

"He later told villagers in a nearby auto shop that their
religion had been insulted," Priya said.

Rahman told police the villagers immediately wanted to vent
their anger. He said he advised them to consult the subdistrict
head.

Priya said a meeting was finally scheduled for the Marisa
subdistrict head's house at 3 p.m. on Friday. Participants
decided they would visit Tommy's store to seek clarification.

"When they arrived, the mob of about 200 villagers, mostly
teenagers, was already dragging goods out of Tommy's store and
setting them ablaze."

The community elders, assisted by other villagers, helped
quell the unrest by persuading the people to disperse, Priya
said.

"It's OK now," he said. "Nobody was hurt."

Priya added police were investigating who incited the crowd to
gather at the store as the community elders' meeting was
proceeding.

Tommy is in shock and sheltered at the nearby military post,
Antara reported on Saturday. In contrast to Priya's report, it
said two teenagers were hurt in the incident.

Meanwhile, the news agency reported that peace and order had
returned to the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, which last week
was rocked by unrest in which several buildings were vandalized
and set ablaze.

Poso police chief Lt. Col. Deddy Woeryondono was quoted as
attributing the unrest to criminal reasons rather than religious
discord.

The riots broke out at dawn on Dec. 26 after a man praying at
a local mosque was attacked by three drunken men with a machete.
The victim sustained serious injuries.

In Jakarta last November, at least 14 people died and several
churches were torched and vandalized after a misunderstanding
broke out between residents and hoodlums.

Retaliatory violence later followed in Kupang, East Nusa
Tenggara, and Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi. (aan)