Banjarmasin riot of May 1997
The Banjarmasin riot of May 1997 took place on 23 May 1997 on the last day of the election campaign for the Indonesian legislative election, 1997. In strongly Islamic Banjarmasin, supporters of the PPP were aggrieved by perceived abuses of power by the ruling Golkar party. After Friday prayers, thousands of people attacked supporters heading to a Golkar rally.
The ensuing violence resulted in the killing of several Golkar supporters, as well as attacks on the interests of big businesses, Christians, and the Chinese.
A Batak Protestant Church, close to a large mosque, and its neighbouring Chinese-owned houses were burned, as well as the Catholic Saint Mary's Cathedral, two other Catholic churches, several Catholic schools, and a home for the elderly. In addition 8 shopping malls, Lima Cahaya department store, Chinese-owned businesses, and churches of seven denominations, a Buddhist temple, two hotels, 21 cars, 130 houses, and four government buildings were damaged or destroyed.
In total at least 137 people were killed, mostly on the second floor of the Mitra Plaza mall, which had been entered by looters reluctant to surrender to the surrounding police.
