T

he regional administration of Bantul, Yogyakarta, has temporarily suspended activities at Darussunnah Islamic kindergarten and elementary school in Nitipuran following a clash allegedly involving students'€™ parents and locals.

'€œWe did not close it down. We, the Bantul administration, the FPUB [Interfaith Brotherhood Forum] and MUI [Indonesian Ulema Council], have agreed to temporarily suspend activities until the case is thoroughly handled,'€ Bantul Regent Sri Suryawidati told The Jakarta Post, Friday.

The conflict started when locals warned some of the kindergarten students'€™ parents to watch their speed when they drove through a narrow alley near the school.

Annoyed by the warnings, alleged parents of the kindergarten'€™s students came to Nitipuran on Mar. 2. They damaged two motorcycles and two houses next to the school.

Some locals also said a Nitipuran villager had been threatened with a sharp weapon.

Sri said that she had met the school'€™s owner, Munajat, and told him to apply for a license as the school had not been issued a permit.

Separately, Munajat said that he sent the students home following the violence on Sunday. '€œWe want to concentrate on the case,'€ Munajat said.

He said some parents took the narrow alley as the main road had been closed for a community event.

'€œSome locals used sectarian words and this angered the parents,'€ Munajat said.

He admitted that the two schools were without a license but argued that the license application took time.

'€œSo, we opened the school while we waited for the license to be issued,'€ he said.

Munajat added that the kindergarten, which currently has 50 students, had opened in 2009 while the elementary school, which has some 40 students, opened in 2011.

He declined to mention the names of the alleged perpetrators and said that the Bantul Police was handling the case.

Separately, Bantul Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Surawan said that as of Friday, no one had been named suspect, but six witnesses, including locals and Munajat, had been questioned.

'€œWe found it difficult to identify the perpetrators because they covered their faces. But, it'€™s just a matter of time. We will find them,'€ Surawan said.

Bantul Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) head Kandiawan said that the Satpol PP and police were safeguarding the conflict site.

'€œWe do so to prevent people from taking revenge,'€ Kandiawan said.

He also said that the two conflicting parties would meet next week. '€œIf the situation is not safe, we will send the students to other schools,'€ he added.

Meanwhile, Sumarwan, a resident of Nitipuran, criticized the police for its slow investigation. He also said that the police had facilitated a meeting with Munajat after the violence during which Munajat agreed to pay compensation to the villagers.

'€œBut we refused. We want the case to be processed legally,'€ Sumarwan said.