Asia-Pacific
Tomb protest turns deadly in Indonesia's Jakarta
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-04-15 14:46
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 Residents stand near burned vehicles during a clash near Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta April 14, 2010. [Agencies] |
Protesters maintained control of the area around the tomb and some 500 security forces had to be evacuated to a nearby police station by boat because leaving by road would have likely led to more clashes, said Bambang Ervan, a spokesman at the transportation ministry.
Just after midnight, several hundred protesters set fire to five security vehicles parked outside the hospital, Metro TV reported. The flare-up came a short time after senior government and police officials visited the hospital.
Kurnia said authorities were surprised by the response of those living near the tomb.
"The mass anger was horrible and beyond our expectation for what was a simple case," he said.
Kurnia said members of a hard-line Muslim group also were involved in the fighting.
"The locals were supported by a mass organization who outnumbered the locals by twofold," he said.
Kurnia declined to name the group. He may have been referring to the Islamic Defenders Front, an organization with a long history of vandalizing nightspots, hurling stones at Western embassies, and torching buildings belonging to rival groups or sects it considers heretical.
Jakarta police chief Maj. Gen. Wahyono, who uses a single name, said 130 people were wounded, including 79 security forces. Kurnia said seven were in critical condition, including a security officer who had his stomach slashed open with a machete, and another whose hand was cut off.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed concern and regret over the clashes and ordered an investigation. He also called on Jakarta's governor to meet all parties involved and put any evictions in the area on hold until a solution can be reached.
