Sumbawa resumes activities following riot as thousands still take refugee

A resident observes a shop/house gutted by fire during a communal riot in Sumbawa Besar, Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara, on Tuesday. The riot, which led to the destruction of 35 houses, was sparked by a report of violence that circulated through text message. The city was back to normal on Wednesday. (Antara/Ikhsan)
Activities in the city Sumbawa Besar in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, have returned to normal following a riot that ravaged two minimarkets, two homes, a hotel and a place of worship as well as displacing some 2,216 residents of Balinese descent.
“Conditions have started to return to normal. Residents have resumed their usual activities,” said NTB Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sukarman Husein on Wednesday.
Following the riot, the police had deployed 816 officers to secure the region and prevent further violence from breaking out, he said.
The riot was reportedly triggered by the death of Aryati, 30, who was allegedly raped and abused by her boyfriend, Brig. I Gede Eka Suarjana, a 21-year-old officer at the Sumbawa Police,
The police, meanwhile, said that Aryati died in motorcycle accident traffic in which she was riding with Suarjana.
On Tuesday, Aryati’s family members and several students from Samawa University held a rally at the Sumbawa Police station, asking the police to clarify the cause of her death.
Unsatisfied with the police’s explanation, the rally’s participants decided to take matters into their own hands and start the riot.
Responding to the chaos, Sukarman urged the people of Sumbawa to not be easily provoked and to let the police handle matters of the law.

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