Looting spreads to various areas<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): At least three people died and dozens more have
\nbeen wounded in clashes with the security forces during sporadic
\noutbreaks of rioting and looting in areas of North Sumatra, South
\nSulawesi, Jambi and East Java over the past three days.<\/p>\n
In the North Sumatra capital of Medan, a mob of 100 people
\ntook advantage of the chaos caused by a public transport drivers
\nstrike to attack the city's luxurious Plaza Yuki Simpang Raya
\nshopping center.<\/p>\n
The crowd threw stones at the building's glass walls and
\nlooted some of the merchandise displayed on the first floor,
\nincluding wristwatches and jewelry. Shoppers and salesgirls alike
\nfled in panic before the security forces arrived 15 minutes later
\nto restore order.<\/p>\n
No injuries were reported and five arrests were made.<\/p>\n
The incident took place at around 8.30 a.m., when Medan had
\nbeen brought to a virtual standstill by the drivers strike which
\nleft thousands stranded and without transport.<\/p>\n
The drivers were protesting at the soaring price of basic
\ncommodities and vehicle spare parts.<\/p>\n
When the looting began yesterday, the drivers and their
\nsupporters, including students and youth activists, were
\ndelivering their demands to Governor Rizal T. Nurdin at his
\noffice on Jl. Diponegoro.<\/p>\n
The meeting lasted late into yesterday afternoon.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Rizal agreed to the establishment of a
\nPeople's Collective Council. The council will be manned by the
\nrepresentatives of farmers, fishermen, drivers and menial workers
\nand will advise the governor on his efforts to improve the
\nwelfare of people in the province.<\/p>\n
Demonstrators told the governor how they no longer earned
\nenough to live as a result of soaring prices.<\/p>\n
\"We go to work early in the morning when our children are
\nstill asleep and come home when they are already back in their
\nbeds, but we never earn more than Rp 7,500 (65 U.S. cents) for a
\nhard day's work,\" said one of the drivers. \"The price of a
\nkilogram of rice is now Rp 4,000. We can't buy anything to eat
\nwith it.<\/p>\n
\"What's going to happen to us? No matter how hard we work, we
\njust can't make a decent living,\" he lamented.<\/p>\n
The drivers pointed out that the price of spare parts has
\nrisen by 400 percent, making life even more difficult for them.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, sporadic looting has been breaking out in East Java
\nsince Saturday. In one incident in Bondowoso, a man identified as
\nBusyairi, 36, was shot dead on Sunday morning when troops tried
\nto stop a mob from pillaging rice mills and shops selling basic
\ncommodities. Seven people were arrested and may be charged with
\norganizing the looting.<\/p>\n
Police chief Col. Budi Utomo said investigations had revealed
\nthat the looting was motivated by \"personal interests.\"<\/p>\n
Also on Sunday, hundreds of people looted two major chicken
\nfarms, PT Telor Kencana and PT Ayam Petelor, in the Pakis
\ndistrict of Malang regency in East Java. Five people were wounded
\nwhen security forces tried to disperse the crowds. The mob stole
\n15,000 chickens, six television sets and one pickup van.<\/p>\n
Still in East Java, hundreds of people stole timber from a
\nteak plantation in Snepo Sepi, Pesanggaran, in Banyuwangi regency
\non Sunday.<\/p>\n
Six people were arrested and taken to Pesanggaran police
\nstation. However, a crowd of 100 people then gathered and
\nthreatened to burn the police station down if the six people were
\nnot released.<\/p>\n
Also in Malang, hundreds of residents from the Gondanglegi
\narea of the city looted a warehouse where Harto Wijoyo, alias A.
\nHok, was allegedly storing 50 metric tons of rice. The looting
\nstarted on Saturday evening and lasted until Sunday morning, when
\nthe crowd burned the building down.<\/p>\n
However, the mob unwittingly destroyed evidence the police
\nwere relying upon in an investigation into A. Hok, whom they
\nsuspected of hoarding imported rice.<\/p>\n
On Monday morning, a crowd in Cerme district, Gresik, looted
\nthree shrimp farms with impunity. Police arrived too late to put
\na stop to the theft. At almost the same time, security forces in
\nNgawi regency were overwhelmed when villagers began to raid teak
\nplantations in the area.<\/p>\n
Brawijaya Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djoko Subroto
\ntold the media on Monday that he would not hesitate to issue a
\nshoot-on-the-spot order to his men if looters continued to defy
\nthe security forces.<\/p>\n
\"The looting in East Java has gone way too far,\" he said,
\ncalling on the public to ignore those who tried to incite them to
\ncause anarchy.<\/p>\n
Brawls<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Luwu regency, 460 kilometer north of the South
\nSulawesi capital of Ujungpandang, a brawl between youths from two
\nvillages erupted into full blown rioting which killed two and
\nleft 18 others injured. One hundred and eighteen houses were also
\nburned down during the incident.<\/p>\n
The violence between villagers of Lara and Rante Malino began
\non Saturday and lasted until Sunday evening, according to the
\nLuwu police. The incident also disrupted traffic between South
\nSulawesi and Central Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Luwu police chief Undang Rahmansyah said that the 40 police
\npersonnel dispatched to the scene were vastly outnumbered by
\nthose involved in the violence.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that a looting spree also took place Monday
\nmorning on a noodle warehouse in Rawa Pudak, Jambi Luar Kota,
\nBatanghari regency in Jambi.<\/p>\n
Hit by the worst economic crisis in decades, Indonesia has
\nborne witness to a rising incidence of social unrest over the
\npast year. Earlier this month, major looting sprees broke out in
\nPontianak, West Kalimantan. However, Tanjungpura Regional
\nMilitary Commander Maj. Gen. Suwisma said the looting was not
\nprompted by food shortages, much less hunger.<\/p>\n
\"West Kalimantan people, especially those in the hinterland,
\nare not suffering from a food shortage,\" he said as quoted by
\nAntara. (nur\/21\/37\/swe)<\/p>",
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