Mobs rampage through Indonesia town

An Indonesian mob rampaged through an eastern town for a second day Monday, venting anger over rising food prices on ethnic Chinese businesses. At least 60 Chinese sought refuge in a police station.

The rioting on the island of Flores, which prompted the local government to impose a curfew, came as Indonesia is battling its worst economic crisis in three decades. Inflation and unemployment are rising dramatically, and austerity measures enacted under a $40 million bailout by the International Monetary Fund have added to the discontent.Ethnic Chinese make up only about 4 percent of Indonesia's 202 million people, but they dominate commerce and are often targeted when prices rise.

The mob burned 21 Chinese-owned stores Sunday in Ende, on the island of Flores 1,000 miles east of Jakarta. After an uneasy night, protesters returned to the streets Monday, throwing rocks at other stores and houses, smashing windows and damaging buildings.

The Ende government ordered a curfew Monday between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., said army Sgt. Lalu Syaiful.

Authorities said about 60 to 70 ethnic Chinese sought refuge with police and later were escorted to relatives' homes.

Several hundred security officers, including 60 riot police from Jakarta, were trying to control the mob, police said.

Stones hurled by rioters Sunday fell near a house where a wedding ceremony was under way. One shocked guest died of a heart attack, Syaiful said by telephone.

He said there had been no arrests.

In the capital Monday, about 300 people staged a noisy but peaceful protest against rising food prices outside the nation's central bank.

Many chanted: "Hungry! Hungry!" Others waved rupiah and U.S. dollars to symbolize the slide in the value of the local currency.