Rioters burn churches in Indonesia's West Java (Reuter)

Thu, 26 Dec 1996 18:52:59 -0600 10:22GMT 26 Dec

Rioters burn churches in Indonesia's West Java

JAKARTA, Dec 26 (Reuter)


Rioters in mainly Moslem Indonesia set ablaze at least three Christian churches, several other buildings and cars in the West Java town of Tasikmalaya on Thursday, a police official and residents said. They said the reason for the attacks was not immediately clear, but residents said groups of youths were rampaging through the town that had been cordoned off by police, about 200 km (125 miles) southeast of Jakarta.

"Yes, three churches have been set on fire by the people. I don't know why they are doing it, or the full extent of the damage," a police official told Reuters by telephone.

A resident, Chuisan, said several churches, commercial buildings and houses had been badly damaged by groups of people, mostly youths rampaging through the town."There's a group of people knocking on my door right now," he told Reuters before hanging up the telephone.

Another witness said police and soldiers had cordoned off the town. He said he could see smoke billowing from the town centre.

In October, 25 churches and a temple were burnt down and five people died after a mob went on the rampage in the Situbondo area of East Java. The trial of five Indonesians accused of taking part in the riot opened on December 17. They were the first of 53 people expected to face trial.

The mob ran amok during the court case of a Moslem heretic being tried for blasphemy. The man subsequently received a prison sentence. Armed forces chief General Feisal Tanjung said in Irian Jaya province on Wednesday that conflicts triggered by religious differences in Indonesia were more dangerous than those caused by ethnic and racial differences, the official Antara news agency reported.

More than 80 percent of Indonesia's nearly 200 million people are Moslems, but the government recognises all the world's major religions.

Thursday, 26 December 1996 10:22:41 GMT
ENDS

Police beating apparenthly sparks Indonesian riot (Reuters)

By K.T.Arasu
JAKARTA, Dec 26 (Reuter)

An Indonesian mob, apparently incensed by a report that police had beaten a religious teacher, went on the rampage on Thursday, setting fire to churches, commercial buildings and vehicles, police and residents said.

They said the West Java town of Tasikmalaya, about 200 km (125 miles) southeast of Jakarta, appeared to be under siege with smoke billowing from burning buildings.

Residents contacted by telephone said police and troops had sealed off the town of about 500,000 people, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. They said a crowd of several thousand people, many of them youths, ran amok apparetly after police had beaten a religious school teacher and his two students.

"Yes, the rioting is connected to that case," a Tasikmalaya police official told Reuters. "The rioters are still going around town and we are monitoring the situation."
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The police official in Tasikmalaya said more than 200 policemen had been deployed and reinforcements had been sought from the hilltown of Bandung, about 120 km (75 miles) to the northwest. He said police were trying to determine the extent of the damage in Tasikmalaya, a key road and rail transit town from Jakarta to central Java, which produces mainly handicraft products.
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Political and religious analysts say Christian churches become targets for mob violence primarily for economic and social reasons, with Christians usually the more affluent members of the community.
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PS: Several parts were deleted for they're similar to the news before.