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Jakarta Post

Meliana reported for blasphemy

The Tanjung Balai Police will proceed with the legal prosecution against two suspects, Budi Herianto and Rifai Zuharisyah, who allegedly incited racial unrest in the port city

Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post)
Tanjung Balai
Sat, August 6, 2016

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Meliana reported for blasphemy

T

he Tanjung Balai Police will proceed with the legal prosecution against two suspects, Budi Herianto and Rifai Zuharisyah, who allegedly incited racial unrest in the port city. The recent riot in Tanjung Balai saw 12 temples looted and burned.

The police will also build a case against Meliana, 41, the woman who complained about the loud voice of adzan (the Islamic call to prayer), which was then used by the two suspects to provoke a mob — leading to the unrest.

Surprisingly, Meliana was not reported by any individual or group. Rather, she was reported by a police officer who thought her complaint about the loud adzan constituted an insult to Islam.

“How can we prove Meliana insulted a religion when nobody reported her to the police? To solve this problem, Brig. Kuntoro reported her,” North Sumatra Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Rina Sari Ginting said, referring to the name of the police member who filed the report.

Rina said Kuntoro had reason to report Meliana because he was at the scene when the mob argued with Meliana outside her house. Kuntoro came to the location at the request of the neighborhood head.

“Brig. Kuntoro was invited to come and calm down the mob,” Rina said.

The police spokesperson said the police had questioned five people in relation to Meliana’s case. The police have also sought opinion from experts from North Sumatra University to verify whether or not Meliana complaint constituted an insult to religion.

Even though Meliana has since apologized, the police have not dropped her case.

“She has the right to make an apology. But the legal process will continue,” Tanjung Balai Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ayep Wahyu Gunawan said.

He said the two provocateurs and Meliana had apologized to Tanjung Balai Mayor M Syahrial for what they had done when they met at the police office.

“I apologize to all Indonesian citizens, especially to the public of Tanjung Balai, for my ignorance,” Meliana said at the police office Thursday night.

In addition, Ayep said the number of suspects involved in the unrest kept increasing, with the latest figure reaching some 20 suspects, seven of whom are underage. The adult suspects have been put in detention.

“The seven underage suspects were returned to their parents so they could continue with their education,” he said, adding that their trial would refer to Law No. 11/2012 on Child Trial Procedures.

Since the racial unrest broke out in Tanjung Balai, Meliana and her husband have been staying at the police office. Their parents were evacuated out of the city.

Meliana, who has been living in Tanjung Balai for eight years, said she would stay and make a living in the city. She said she hoped the people in Tanjung Balai would live a peaceful life in the future.

Meanwhile, Budi Herianto said he regretted what he had done, provoking the unrest. He promised not to make the same mistake again.

“I apologize. I will not do it again,” he said in shame.

Tanjung Balai Police investigators arrested Budi and Rifai, both of them private employees, for allegedly inciting the riot.

Police spokesperson Rina Sari said both men incited people to loot and set the temples on fire. At least 12 temples were set ablaze and vandalized on the night of July 29 through to the early hours of Saturday. No fatalities were reported in the incident. However, financial losses are estimated to have reached into the billions of rupiah.

The riot began when Meliana complained about the loud voice of adzan emanating from the Al Maksum Mosque near her house. Irked by her complaint, people flooded her house and the situation escalated.

To avoid a clash, Meliana and her family were taken to the police office.

A mob arrived at Meliana’s house intending to set her house on fire. However, Meliana’s neighbors prevented the mob from doing so. The angry mob then walked to a temple on Jl. Juanda and set it on fire.

Fueled by the provocation, the mob moved to some more temples and looted them before setting them on fire.

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