Villagers throw stones, rotten eggs at offices

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)