Political instability in Indonesia: A record of riots
Compiled by James Balowski
1995
January 1 — After an East Timorese was killed by a migrant, thousands of East Timorese in Bacau set fire to markets destroying at least 90 shops and leaving five people injured.
May 4 — After a land dispute, farmers from Jember, East Java, rioted, destroying a plantation and demolishing five buildings.
June 11 — 1,500 Catholics in Larantuka on the island of Flores, Eastern Indonesia, rioted leaving one person dead, vehicles destroyed and 21 shops and restaurants burnt down.
October 31 — Crowds destroyed a supermarket during three days of rioting in Purwakarta, West Java, after an Islamic woman was accused of shoplifting and hit by a supermarket security guard.
November 25 — At least 75 shops and a number of churches and Chinese temples were destroyed by Muslims in Pekalongan, after a Chinese person tore up a copy of the Koran.
December 26 — A man was beaten to death by a crowd of Catholics for desecrating holy water during a mass in East Nusa Tenggara.
1996
April 24 — Three students were killed and others seriously wounded when tanks and armed troops broke up student demonstrations against increases in transport fees in Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi.
March 12 — 3000 people attacked the offices of mining giant Freeport Indonesia in Timika, West Papua. Company buildings and employees quarters were destroyed and two local inhabitants killed during the incident.
July 27 — Massive riots erupted in the streets of central Jakarta following the attack on Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDI headquarters by government-hired thugs and the military. At least 50 people were killed in the attack.
October 10 — Five people were killed, 25 churches and the state courthouse were burnt down in Sitibundo, East Java. The incident began after a Muslim crowd were angered by the light sentence demanded by the prosecution in a case against an Islamic teacher accused of blasphemy.
December 24 — 13 people were arrested when tens of thousands of people gathered in Dili, East Timor, to welcome Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Belo. At least 11 people were injured during a confrontation when a plain-clothed Indonesian intelligence officer believed to be involved in an assassination attempt on Belo was killed by the crowd.
December 26 — Thousands rioted in Tasikmalaya, West Java, angered by police mistreatment of three Muslim teachers. 14 police stations, 13 churches, 89 other buildings, four factories and 14 vehicles were burnt or destroyed. 173 people were arrested.
December 30 — At least nine people died, more than 200 shops and houses were burnt and looted and 21 people are still "missing" after Dayaks attacked Javanese migrants in Sanggau Ledo.
January 27 — Hundreds of angry street hawkers rioted in the Tanah Abang markets in central Jakarta, leaving one government building and five vehicles burnt after officials ordered them to move stalls that were blocking the street.
January 30 — Four Christian churches and two Chinese temples, more than 20 cars and about 70 other buildings were destroyed in the town of Rengasdenklok, West Java, after Chinese residents complained about the noise from a mosque.
January 31 — Five office buildings, eight factories, four storehouses, an employees' mess, 68 trucks and employee operation cars were damaged and 60 bicycles burned after more than 12,000 workers protested to demand a bonus for the end of the Islamic fasting month near the city of Bandung, West Java.
In 1996 alone, 19 students have been killed, 541 buses damaged and 1842 students arrested in 150 school-related brawls. Over the last five years, a total of 63 students have died, 110 have been seriously wounded and 300 others have suffered minor injuries.