http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/shariah-police-arrest-five-in-banda-aceh-punk-raid/542452
Shariah Police Arrest Five in Banda Aceh Punk Raid Jakarta Globe | September 05, 2012 Police officers shave the heads of punks after a raid on a punk hangout in Banda Aceh, in this file photo. Shariah Police detained five youths in a raid on an internet cafe, a popular punk hangout, on Tuesday, Antara reported. (EPA Photo/Hotli Simanjuntak) Aceh’s Shariah Police continued their crackdown on punks on Tuesday, arresting five youths in a raid on an internet cafe in the provincial capital that had allegedly become a hangout for local punks, according to Antara News Reports. The Shariah Police reportedly arrested three punks and two junior high school students in the raid, Antara reported. The youths were released after completing religious re-education classes. Banda Aceh’s deputy mayor denied reports that the youths had been arrested, explaining that they were only detained to be re-educated. “We don’t want Aceh’s young generation to be a generation with no direction in their lives,” Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal told the local news portal AcehKita.com. The raid was conducted as part of a push to stamp out Western influences in the strict Islamic province. “This is one of the government’s efforts to educate and direct the next generation to live in line with Eastern culture,” Illiza told Antara. So-called punks have become a hot button issue in Banda Aceh, where the youths, with their tattered clothes and rebellious attitudes, have caused unease among the city’s conservative residents. Parents have asked the government to re-educate their children, according to Antara reports. The local government responded by launching a Islamic education program to instill religious values in the punks. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
