Jakarta haunted by return of riots<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta lurched to the brink of a citywide riot
\non Saturday as sporadic outbreaks of looting sprung up in various
\nparts of the city.<\/p>\n
The worst hit areas were Senen and Sawah Besar in Central
\nJakarta, where about a dozen shops and banks were looted, torched
\nor pelted with stones. Dozens of vehicles were also burnt.<\/p>\n
In some locations, order appeared to break down completely,
\nwith cars being stopped arbitrarily and their occupants robbed.<\/p>\n
With the devastating May riots still fresh in people's minds,
\nmost residents were expecting the worst and local security
\npatrols were stepped up.<\/p>\n
It was the combination of these civilian patrols, quick and
\npersuasive military action, particularly from the Marine Corps,
\nand a great deal of self restraint from Jakartans which prevented
\na recurrence of May's unrest.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djadja Suparman, speaking
\non Saturday evening, maintained that \"the situation is still
\nunder control\".<\/p>\n
Nevertheless both he and Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso called on
\nresidents not to leave their houses after 10 p.m. for the rest of
\nthe weekend.<\/p>\n
\"This is not a curfew,\" Djadja quickly emphasized.<\/p>\n
President B.J. Habibie also held separate meetings with
\nCabinet ministers, and religious and community leaders to review
\nthe situation and attempt to instill calm.<\/p>\n
The tense atmosphere built up as a result of the bloody
\nclashes between students and security personnel in the Semanggi
\ncloverleaf area in South Jakarta on the previous night.<\/p>\n
By Saturday morning an ill feeling towards military personnel
\nhad developed and a mob on Jl. Sudirman near Semanggi stopped
\nvehicles, \"hunting\" for military personnel.<\/p>\n
Maintaining security at strategic locations was largely left
\nto the Navy's maroon beret marine corps, who's reputation
\nsurvived intact.<\/p>\n
On several occasions people shouted \"Long live marines!\" as
\nthe corps moved in to replace Army and police units perceived to
\nbe the culprits in the deaths of students over the past two days.<\/p>\n
The grudge borne towards other elements of the military was
\nevident, with trucks not belonging to the marines beng hailed
\nwith stones and shouts of \"Communist!\" when they passed along Jl.
\nGatot Subroto.<\/p>\n
In a peculiar incident in the Senayan area of Central Jakarta,
\na member of the marine corps was hit in the leg by a bullet.<\/p>\n
The head of the Marine Corps' information bureau, Maj. Ibrahim
\nSadong explained that \"he was hit by a stray bullet and it's only
\na light wound\". Ibrahim said the bullet was believed to have been
\nfired by a police detachment stationed near Semanggi.<\/p>\n
Looting<\/p>\n
A crowd numbering in the hundreds gathered in the morning in
\nthe Salemba area near to the front of the University of Indonesia
\nwhile students held a rally inside the campus.<\/p>\n
The crowd became increasingly agitated, despite the best
\nefforts of students to calm them down.<\/p>\n
At about 10 a.m. a Kijang van with military license plates was
\nturned over and set on fire by the crowd.<\/p>\n
An eyewitness told The Jakarta Post that a mob became angry
\nafter the driver of the van honked the horn at people to move
\nthem out of the way.<\/p>\n
The two military personnel inside the van escaped after being
\nbeaten by the mob.<\/p>\n
The mob, which by now numbered over one thousand, then moved
\nup the road towards the Senen area.<\/p>\n
At around 3 p.m. they began looting shops on the lower level
\nof Senen market. Many of the goods taken from the shops were then
\nburnt in the middle of the road.<\/p>\n
Many vehicles parked on the side of the road were vandalized
\nor burned.<\/p>\n
The mob then moved on to the Atrium shopping center, where
\nseveral shops were ransacked.<\/p>\n
The mayhem only stopped when a truck load of marines arrived
\non the scene and persuaded the crowd to calm down.<\/p>\n
Marines were also able to dissuade a mob from attacking a
\npolice station in Kramat, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Saptohadi, a police assistant from the Krekot police station,
\nsaid marines also stopped the mob from burning a Metro department
\nstore.<\/p>\n
A crowd of several hundred continued marching towards the
\nSawah Besar area. They were joined by another mob and then
\nwrecked havoc along Jl. Samanhudi and Jl. Pecenongan.<\/p>\n
Screaming \"We are hungry!\" and \"Long live students\", they
\nbegan pelting stones at several buildings. A motorcycle showroom,
\nand a Bank Danamon office were torched and a Bank Tamara office
\nin the area was ransacked.<\/p>\n
Several small shops adjacent to the burning buildings also
\ncaught fire.<\/p>\n
The owner of a jewelry store ran out of his shop carrying gold
\nand money. He was fortunate to be saved by security personnel
\nbefore the mob could get to him.<\/p>\n
The progress of the hostile mob was quickly curtailed by
\nsoldiers, who were quick to block off major intersections in the
\narea.<\/p>\n
The rule of law also came to an end in the Cawang area of East
\nJakarta for several hours Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
At around 1 p.m., mobs began to destroy anything in their
\npath, including phone booths, flowerpots and road signs.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said the security forces had abandoned the area
\nafter they were unable to stop a the wave of students forcing
\ntheir way towards the Assembly building.<\/p>\n
The situation got so out of control that several cars were
\nstopped and robbed and a truck was turned upside down and set on
\nfire.<\/p>\n
An hour later, the masses moved towards Pancoran and set fire
\nto three toll booths.<\/p>\n
Two police stations, one on Jl. M.T. Haryono and one near
\nGelael Supermarket were also bombarded with stones.<\/p>\n
It was not until 4:30 p.m. that three trucks of marines
\narrived to calm the situation.<\/p>\n
Late yesterday evening it was reported that people had also
\nscattered debris along parts of the Kebon Jeruk-Tangerang toll
\nroad, forcing cars to pick their way slowly along the route or
\nturn back altogether.<\/p>\n
By 10:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, most of Jakarta was
\nreportedly calm, with no new reports of unrest. However the
\nsituation on the streets remained extremely tense. (team)<\/p>",
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