Students of an unlicensed school vandalized a dozen graves in Solo, Central Java, officials said, with the city’s mayor labeling the crime an act of intolerance.
On June 16, 12 graves — most, if not all, of which were reportedly Christian graves — at the Cemoro Kembar Cemetery were defaced and damaged. Authorities soon identified the culprits to be 10 children who go to a nearby school, which had been operating without an education license.
Solo Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka said he was incensed upon having learned that the act of vandalism was driven by religious intolerance, which may have been taught at the school.
“Just shut [the school down]. It’s all wrong, the teachers, the students,” Gibran said yesterday.
The city administration has reported the school’s administrators and teachers to the police for possible hate crime, while all 39 children who were admitted to the school will receive counseling.
“We will counsel the children and straighten their mindsets,” Gibran said, referring to teaching the children values related to tolerance.
Police and military personnel, as well as members of the public, have agreed to work together to restore the graves.
Grave vandalism isn’t exactly a common crime in Indonesia, but, more often than not, graves that are targeted belong to members of minority faiths.
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