Indonesian Shiite refugees refuse to return home after attack

Jan 5, 2012, 11:32 GMT

Jakarta - About 300 Shiite Muslims fleeing an attack by local Sunnis on Indonesia's Madura island have refused to return home fearing further violence, activists said Thursday.

The Shiites have taken shelter at a football stadium in Java's Sampang district since the attack by hundreds of Sunnis who burned their homes, a mosque and a school on December 29.

There were no fatalities in the attack.

'They will not return unless the district chief and the police provide written guarantees that their safety will be protected,' said Ahmad Hidayat, secretary general of Ahlul Bait Indonesia, an organization that advocates for Shiite Muslims.

'Police said they would protect the victims and had arrested some of the attackers, but we haven't seen proof,' he said.

Police said last week that they were looking for five people they suspected of inciting the unrest. Officials could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Officials denied the refugees access to water and food for most of Wednesday to encourage them to return home, Hidayat said.

'They ate dinner at 10:30 yesterday,' he said Thursday. 'Thanks be to God, today they had breakfast and lunch on time.'

Muhammad Subhi, a researcher at the Wahid Institute, a think thank that promotes moderate Islam, said the conflict started as a personal dispute between two siblings who followed the different branches of Islam.

'It was a trivial matter but turned into a sectarian issue because it wasn't managed well,' he said.

Tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in the area have simmered since 2007, Subhi and Hidayat said.

'I think some individuals are taking advantage of religious issues to create discord,' Hidayat said.