My blog has moved!

You will be automatically redirected to the new address. If that does not occur, visit
http://teaandpolitics.wordpress.com/
and update your bookmarks.

Thursday 15 April 2010

Indonesia: at least 40 wounded after riots related to Islamic scholar tomb

Another two could have been killed during the "unrest":
Special Capital Territory of JakartaImage via Wikipedia
Hundreds of residents armed with machetes clashed with security forces using water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets on Wednesday in Jakarta over a plan to renovate an area containing an Islamic scholar's tomb.
The local hospital in Koja, north Jakarta, said it was treating 54 people following the fighting between about 2,000 public order officers and residents, the worst civil disturbances in several years in the Indonesian capital.
....Some of the protesters were supporters of the Islamic Defenders Front, a hardline Muslim group known for attacking bars and nightclubs. Several appeared to be teenagers.
Metro TV said two people died in the unrest but did not cite a source.
The protesters thought the city government was trying to remove the tomb of Habib Hasan, an Islamic scholar who died in the mid-1700s, on land owned by state-owned port company Pelindo II. The Jakarta local government denied it had plans to dismantle the tomb, saying it wanted to renovate it.
"The location (of the clash) is right in front of the main gate, so there is a disruption" of port activities, said Kiki Hikmat, a staff member of Pelindo II. "The container traffic is slower because there are crowds on the street."
Indonesia is a so-called "moderate" country. These guys are "hardline" (that is, they are "far and beyond"-extremists) and really violent. Who goes to a demostration with a machete with other people who also carry machetes?
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please be polite. I don't usually erase any comment but I will do if:
1.- It's spam.
2.- You're trolling.
Thanks for leaving your comments.