Bloody riots over the Muslim tomb in Jakarta killed 3 people yesterday before police was sent to stop the violence. Over 100 people got injured, many of them quite seriously. They clashed with security forces and protested against plans to flatten part of a cemetery which contains a memorial to a Muslim scholar. A misunderstanding about the fate of the tomb of Habib Hasan bin Muhammed al-Hadad, an 18th-century Arab cleric known as Mbah Priok, started the riots.
The public-order branch of the police, or Satpol, came to evict squatters and remove their illegal buildings on the land that surrounds the tomb. But some residents of Tanjung Priok port, the place where the tomb is located, thought that the police and officials would tear it down. Even though the scholar’s remains were removed from the cemetery some years ago, his tomb is still considered a holy place by Muslims. The police had to fire pepper bullets, teargas and use the water cannon to men armed with sticks, swords and machetes. Apparently the Satpol police force was beating and kicking some protesters even as they were already injured and on the ground.
On the other side, some people demonstrating have been seen stomping on fallen Satpol officers. One of the Satpol officers lost a hand while being beaten with a machete. The president of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, used harsh word while criticizing the Satpol force, demanding them to resolve the conflict peaceful. “The incident should and could have been avoided and a decision could have been made to stop the operations once the conditions in the field became apparent,” Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was quoted.
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