Villagers throw stones, rotten eggs at offices

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of angry Bekasi residents threw stones and rotten eggs at the local regency and council buildings on Wednesday to express their dissatisfaction over the installment of a new village head.

The residents of Pahlawan Setia village arrived at the offices in five trucks at 9 a.m, witnesses said. The offices are both located in a complex on Jl. Ahmad Yani.

The villagers then proceeded to throw stones and eggs at the two buildings, they said.

Budi, an employee in the regency office, said some of his colleagues threw stones back at the mob before fleeing for their own safety.

No casualties were reported.

The angry residents left the scene half an hour later. A number of windows in the two buildings were broken, Budi told The Jakarta Post.

The residents were apparently upset because the regency and the council had ignored their earlier protests against their newly-elected village head, Syarifuddin.

They had reportedly complained to the regency and the council four times about Syarifuddin's appointment. The villagers believe that his family had links with the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

The regency office dismissed the allegations as baseless.

Regent M. Jamhari installed Syarifuddin and a number of other new village heads in a ceremony on Monday.

Wednesday's unrest was described by Jakarta Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. D.J. Nachrowi as a minor incident.

"It's just a small number of people who are dissatisfied with their village head," Nachrowi said.

Dozens of police and military personnel were dispatched to the scene during the incident.

So far, nobody has been arrested or questioned, city police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said.

Shops were closed for the day and some government buildings put under heavy guard in the aftermath of the incident, Antara reported. (jun)