Influential public figures, residents deplore lootings<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Residents were in dismay and some in fear in the
\naftermath of widespread looting and destruction of public
\nproperty which has been strongly condemned by religious and
\ncommunity leaders.<\/p>\n
Islam condemns the looting of shops and houses of people of
\nChinese descent and other non-Moslems, the influential chairman
\nof the 28-million-strong Muhammadiyah Moslem organization, Amien
\nRais, said here yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"There's not a single verse in the Holy Koran that justifies
\nthe looting of Chinese houses as halal (permissible),\" he told
\n2,000 Moslems after performing a Friday prayer at the Al Azhar
\nMosque here.<\/p>\n
\"Looters must be clobbered,\" Amien said in response to the
\nwidespread unrest.<\/p>\n
Witnesses have said rioters had often targeted buildings and
\nshops believed to be owned by ethnic Chinese.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem
\norganization, Abdurrahman Wahid, called on people to remain calm
\nand for a restoration of order.<\/p>\n
\"I call on people to be calm, and security forces also should
\nshow restraint in their duties,\" he told journalists.<\/p>\n
A statement signed by Abdurrahman, ousted leader of the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairman of
\nthe Indonesian Communion of Churches Sularso Sopater and
\nexecutive secretary of the Indonesian Bishops Conference M.J.
\nNotoseputro, also urged a stop to all forms of violence and
\ncalled for those guilty of criminal actions to be prosecuted
\nunder the law.<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) in a
\nstatement also expressed concern and regret over the events which
\nhave unfolded in the capital.<\/p>\n
\"ICMI observes that the recent sequence of events is an
\naccumulation of various problems of the nation and the state
\nwhich have been left unresolved,\" the statement read.<\/p>\n
Fear<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, residents peered out into the streets with dismay
\nin the aftermath of the worst series of riots to hit the city in
\ndecades.<\/p>\n
Some wondered how long the tense situation would linger, as
\nothers began to worry about their safety and how they would get
\ntheir daily needs in the days to come now that many supermarkets
\nand stores had been looted.<\/p>\n
Jamila, a housewife in the Daan Mogot Baru housing complex in
\nWest Jakarta, said she was living in fear in her neighborhood
\ndominated by ethnic Chinese.<\/p>\n
\"There was looting in the Daan Mogot Mall, and rumors last
\nnight said rioters were heading to the complex,\" the mother of
\nthree pre-teenaged children said yesterday.<\/p>\n
She said households in the neighborhood had donated Rp 100,000
\n(US$10) each to local youths to help them secure the complex.<\/p>\n
Unlike Wednesday night, however, an armored vehicle was now
\nparked just outside the complex with several soldiers guarding
\nthe area.<\/p>\n
\"It's just so scary to see those looters. It's as if they were
\npossessed by Satan. From the television, we can watch how happy
\nand innocent they look as they loot and burn stores,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"So, I think it would be OK for security forces to shoot at
\nthem,\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Jamila was perplexed when asked where the looters had come
\nfrom, especially when she had been told by neighbors that some of
\nthe rioters nabbed by guarding residents were found to be from
\nthe Senen area in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"How long do you think the tense situation will last,\" she
\nasked.<\/p>\n
The calamities have hit the poor and famous alike.<\/p>\n
Fashion designer Ramli said he never expected the situation to
\ndeteriorate so badly.<\/p>\n
He said people might be \"hotheaded\" but they should have been
\n\"cool in the heart\".<\/p>\n
Ramli said he was jolted at how events had affected life in
\nJakarta's streets which he found almost deserted yesterday.<\/p>\n
He told the Post that even finding a restaurant in the usually
\ncrowded main street of Jl. MH Thamrin was difficult.<\/p>\n
The city was relatively quiet yesterday, but crowds of people
\nwere still seen on the streets.<\/p>\n
Some wreckages of burned cars and motorcycles still lay
\nscattered on many streets.<\/p>\n
Many motorists were also disappointed when they found gas
\nstations that had remained closed, some gutted by fire.<\/p>\n
An employee of the Ministry of Public Works, Yarsin, said he
\nwas bewildered and angry at rioters who had targeted gas
\nstations.<\/p>\n
\"The rioters shouldn't have looted filling stations since we
\nneed the gasoline. All of us, as well as them, will suffer
\nwithout gasoline,\" Yarsin said. (team)<\/p>",
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