Night curfew in Bagansiapi-api to restore order
Night curfew in Bagansiapi-api to restore order
JAKARTA (JP): A night curfew has been imposed in the fishing
town of Bagansiapi-api in Riau province and schools have been
temporarily closed in a bid to restore security following a riot
on Tuesday night.
Bengkalis Military Commander Lt. Col. Sutan Lubis said late
Wednesday the situation in the town with a population of 50,000
remained explosive but hoped calm would return soon.
"The situation here is gradually improving," Lubis' adjutant
told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
A 72-year-old resident died of a heart attack during the riot
after being shocked by the extent of the violence, Antara
reported.
About 400 houses, mostly belonging to Chinese-Indonesians,
were burned or damaged on Wednesday following rumors that an
indigenous man had died in hospital after a brawl with Chinese-
Indonesians. A minor traffic accident reportedly triggered the
brawl.
Bagansiapi-api is famous as one of the country's major fishing
ports. Its fishermen, dominated by Chinese-Indonesians, have
expanded their activities to many areas.
At least 13 trawlers, four cars, 10 motorcycles and 20 houses
belonging to Bagansiapi-api fishermen in Cilacap, Central Java,
were burned during anti-Chinese violence in the city port at the
end of last month.
In Parepare, South Sulawesi, security personnel caught dozens
of looters red-handed on Thursday morning while they were
plundering a big store on Jl. Bahumassepe.
According to Parepare Military Commander Lt. Col. Budi
Purwanto, dozens of people also attacked an office of a local
cooperative, Kospin, which had failed to return the deposits of
its members.
"We are still questioning 22 alleged looters," Budi said.
Thousands of people ran amok on Wednesday and damaged five
branches of Kospin which offered them very high interest rates on
their deposits but then reportedly refused to pay its
obligations.
In Purwokerto, Central Java, hundreds of angry Karanglewas
Kidul villagers marched to the police station on Thursday
afternoon. They were after Chief Sgt. Negah Suwijo who reportedly
shot a gambler from the village.
Negah had led a police team on Wednesday night to raid a house
where the victim Riswanto, 18, and his friends were playing
poker.
"We managed to escape although we were very shocked after
Negah shot Riswanto in the leg," said Siam, the victim's friend.
Banyumas Police Chief Lt. Col. Agus Yudharto said he could not
tolerate Negah's harsh action against the youths and vowed to
punish his subordinate.
The villagers left the station after getting an assurance from
Agus that Negah would be punished. The victim is still in the
hospital.
North Sumatra Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Amrin Karim said
massive strikes by public transportation drivers and vandalism on
Monday and Tuesday were allegedly masterminded by seven
unidentified agitators.
"They threw stones at shops and offices and moved from one to
another places to provoke people's anger," Amrin told Antara
Thursday.
He said the police had released 58 of the 74 alleged rioters
arrested during the trouble. (45/prb)