Glodok erupts after raids on pirated VCDs<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Rioting broke out in the capital's predominantly
\nethnic-Chinese business district of Glodok on Saturday morning
\nafter police raided street vendors selling pirated video compact
\ndiscs (VCDs).<\/p>\n
At least four shops in the Harco Glodok electronic goods
\nshopping center and several others along with two automobile
\nshowrooms on nearby Jl. Gajah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk were set
\nalight and vandalized. Looting was also reported from some of the
\nshops affected.<\/p>\n
The incident sparked fear among Jakartans, particularly those
\nof Chinese descent, and reminded them of the riots, arson and
\nlooting on the same date at several places in the city, including
\nGlodok, two years ago.<\/p>\n
Police announced in the evening that they had detained eight
\nmen in connection with the rioting.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said that some of the rioters were carrying Molotov
\ncocktails. At least three policemen were injured during the
\nincident.<\/p>\n
The busy streets in the area were quickly sealed off by
\npolice.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said the
\nrioting broke out when angry stall owners in the area resisted a
\nraid conducted at 8 a.m. by a group of officers from the National
\nPolice Headquarters.<\/p>\n
He gave no further explanation about the raid, but his
\nstatement clearly said that the officers conducting it did not
\nreport their activity to West Jakarta Police as is required by
\nstandard police procedure.<\/p>\n
The street vendors then burned their stalls in protest at the
\nraid. A crowd of youths, including teenagers in high school
\nuniforms, later joined in.<\/p>\n
The vendors usually sold their merchandise, mostly karaoke,
\naction films and pornographic VCDs, in front of the Harco Glodok
\nbuilding, occupying almost half of the four-lane Jl. Hayam Wuruk.
\nTheir choice of location always caused major traffic bottlenecks
\nin the area.<\/p>\n
Earlier, witnesses said the raid was actually carried out by
\nJakarta Public Order officials, not by police officers.<\/p>\n
But Jakarta Administration spokesman Muhayat denied the
\naccusation, saying the raid was the police's business.<\/p>\n
\"We didn't plan nor organize the crackdown. The police didn't
\neven tell us about the operation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Police spokesman Zainuri said that \"the detectives were
\ncracking down on pirated and pornographic VCDs sold by the Glodok
\nstreet vendors.\"<\/p>\n
The fires lit by the vendors spread to several shops in the
\nHarco Glodok building, which had been renovated after it was set
\nalight by mobs in the May 1998 riots.<\/p>\n
The mobs also stoned Caa hardware shop.<\/p>\n
A crowd of people then joined the mob to protest the operation
\nand gathered in front of the Glodok Harco building. The people
\nthen walked to the nearby Harmoni area.<\/p>\n
Along the way, they damaged several shops and broke flower
\npots. They vandalized the Tunas Toyota and Tunas BMW showrooms
\nand burned several things from both showrooms.<\/p>\n
The owners had apparently already moved the cars from the
\ndisplay rooms.<\/p>\n
The mob also attacked a McDonald's fast-food outlet in Gadjah
\nMada Plaza, stoning the windows before ransacking it.<\/p>\n
Tenants at the plaza and residents living behind the building
\ntried to protect it from the rioters.<\/p>\n
\"It's part of our duty to guard the building. If the building
\nis damaged, we may lose our jobs,\" a resident, Hari, said.<\/p>\n
Chief of city police operation control Col. Soenarko said his
\npersonnel needed time to reach the scene.<\/p>\n
\"But we can't say they were late because they needed time to
\nbe deployed,\" he told reporters at the scene.<\/p>\n
\"We have deployed 700 military and police personnel to curb
\nthe riots from spreading to other parts of the city. They are
\nfrom the National Police Headquarters and from police precincts
\nin central, east and west Jakarta,\" he added.<\/p>\n
He also said the officers were able to stop the rioting from
\nspreading by sealing off Jl. Gadjah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk.<\/p>\n
The traffic started to flow normally again at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
Zainuri said some 900 officers were deployed from various
\nunits to curb the rioters.<\/p>\n
\"Police arrested eight people who they suspect provoked others
\nto riot. They were detained at the National Police Headquarters,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"City Police chief Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi has asked National
\nPolice chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo to transfer the eight to us to
\nbe questioned further,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The riots on Jl. Gadjah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk forced some
\nshop owners, particularly those running their business near the
\naffected area, to temporarily close their shops.<\/p>\n
In general, many business centers were open as usual.<\/p>\n
At Pasar Baru and Senen shopping complexes in Central Jakarta
\nand even at several business centers in the Mangga Dua area, near
\nthe scene of the rioting, shops were open as usual even though
\ntheir customers were few.<\/p>\n
Lela, a staffer at Mal Mangga Dua shopping mall, said that
\nabout 50 percent of shop owners had decided to continue trading
\nafter the presence of security guards.<\/p>\n
\"Police trucks are stationed at each of shopping complexes
\nhere, at least one for each building,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The rioting was heavily condemned by the public. Some people
\neven believed that the incident might have been masterminded.<\/p>\n
\"The hundreds of people, where did they come from? They
\nsuddenly appeared and ran amok,\" said legislator Burhan Djabir
\nMagenda.<\/p>\n
Separately, officer Zainuri said the police had released all
\nof the six people arrested on Friday in a clash between police
\nofficers and angry protesters near the residence of former
\npresident Soeharto in the Cendana area, Central Jakarta.
\n(nvn\/09\/ind)<\/p>",
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