Riots flare up in Ambon and South Sulawesi

JAKARTA (JP): Ten people died and more than 100 were injured in communal clashes that exploded on Tuesday in the Maluku provincial capital of Ambon. The incident followed Thursday's rioting in Dobo, Southeast Maluku, 700 kilometers to the east, in which eight people died and dozens more were injured.

Antara reported on Wednesday that 30 houses, 15 cars, 25 motorcycles and 50 pedicabs were set on fire during the incident involving residents from the predominately Muslim subdistrict of Batumerah and the predominantly Christian subdistrict of Mahardi.

Young and old alike took to the streets armed with knives and an assortment of crude weapons after hearing rumors that nearby churches and mosques had been set on fire.

The clash was reportedly triggered by a personal quarrel between a minibus driver from Mardika--????? and a resident of Batumerah. After failing to find his quarry, the driver and two friends reportedly stirred up trouble in Batumerah as local Muslims were preparing for Idul Fitri.

The ensuing quarrel escalated into an open clash between the two areas, the news agency reported.

The Maluku Provincial Police chief Col. Karyono said on Wednesday that hundreds of troops and 400 riot police had been sent to the area.

"Security personnel have been deployed...to prevent the clash from spreading to other areas," he said.

Lt. Col. Afrizal Asyari, the chief of Ambon Police Precinct, told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Wednesday that the security forces had succeeded in restoring order.

"The situation in the city is now under control," he said.

Without mentioning any names, Karyono accused certain individuals of inciting the Christians to "revenge" by spreading rumors that Muslims had burned churches in the city.

The chairman of the Maluku Churches Synod, Rev. Summy Titaley, and the chairman of the local chapter of the Indonesian Council of Muslim Ulemas, H. Sanusi, met with Governor Saleh Latuconsina and called for peace and restraint.

In Dobo on the island of Aru, tension remained high following last Thursday's unrest in which eight people died, several others were injured and 58 houses were damaged.

Waremra, a secretary to the local chapter of Golkar, said the riots grew out of a personal quarrel between two residents.

"The clash degenerated into mass rioting after local people joined in the fray when their houses were hit by some stray rocks," he said as quoted by Antara.

Lt. Col. Simson Munthe, chief of the Southeast Maluku Police Precinct, said dozens of people were being questioned over the bloodshed.

Meanwhile in Sabbang, Luwu, around 470 kilometers north of the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Ujungpandang, local Muslims were unable to celebrate Idul Fitri in the normal fashion because of continued sporadic clashes between different ethnic groups in the area. The clashes first began in the area on Jan. 11.

Intermittent gunfire was reported in several villages in the regency.

"We can't go out and visit relatives for Idul Fitri because we fear fresh clashes," a Muslim resident of Poppaniki village told the Post.

He blamed the trouble on tension between local residents and migrants from the regencies of Tana Toraja, Soppeng, Sengkang and Bone.

Sgt. Iskandaria, chief of a Mobile Brigade platoon deployed in the village of Kalotok, said the police planned to launch an operation to confiscate homemade rifles.

In Banjarnegara, Central Java, hundreds of Perja villagers in Purworajo Klampok district burned a car and pelted houses and shops following a reported theft involving a resident of Bukateja village. Some 20 kilometer away, a brawl took place in Pakelan village, Madukara district, in which 15 youths were injured. (27/rms/45)