Police probe vandalism of churches in Bekasi

Police probe vandalism of churches in Bekasi

JAKARTA (JP): Police are still investigating vandalism of at
least three churches and a private school believed to have been
committed by hundreds of unknown people in Kali Abang
subdistrict, Bekasi on Saturday night.

City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang said on Monday
that the windows of the churches and the school were stoned by at
least 200 people.

"According to the local residents, the attackers were from
another area," Aritonang told the media.

By Monday, the Bekasi police -- which is under the supervision
of the Greater Jakarta police -- had yet to arrest anybody in the
case.

A witness who asked for anonymity said the attackers first
arrived at a Toba Batak Protestant (HKBP) church, which is also
used as a house, in the Harapan Baru housing complex in four
overloaded trucks at about 10 p.m. and started to pelt stones at
the place of worship.

He said the police and military officers who came to the
location 30 minutes later managed to disperse the attackers.

But the unidentified group then headed to the nearby Pondok
Ungu Permai housing complex and pelted another HKPB church and
the privately-run Flora school, the witness said.

"It looks like they had properly planned their action," he
added.

The Flora school, which runs pre-school, elementary school and
junior high school divisions, was still off on Monday in
accordance with the Ramadhan fasting month.

The school, run by a Catholic foundation, is a general school
which also teaches Islamic religion as well as other religions to
their 180 students, one of the teachers, Ririn said.

The attackers stoned the school windows and burned some of the
school's chairs at the school compound, Ririn explained.

The mysterious group only left the site after the local
security forces arrived at the scene, she said.

The mobs in the three trucks then, according to the witness,
headed to a Bethel church located in the other block of the
housing complex and attempted to start damaging it when the local
residents rushed to the site to stop them.

The group then hastily left the scene, he said.

During his visit to the sites on Monday, Bekasi Deputy Mayor
Nonon Sontani regretted the incident and urged the public to stop
destroying religious houses and public facilities. (jun)