Medan relatively calm after riots<\/p>\n
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Relative peace returned to Medan
\nover the weekend after the week-long labor riots, but sporadic
\nprotests by workers were still occurring across the city.<\/p>\n
More than 500 workers staged protests at two companies
\ndemanding higher wages, but no violence was reported.<\/p>\n
Security officers remained visible throughout the region while
\nthe three teams set up by the military to help bring the
\nprotesters and management closer together kept working.<\/p>\n
Apparently pressured by the violence, a number of companies
\nagreed to increase the daily wage. Cipta Prima, for instance, has
\ndecided to raise its workers' minimum daily wage from Rp 3,000
\n(US$1.4) to Rp 3,600 starting today.<\/p>\n
This is also true for another company, Fajar Harapan, which
\nhas increased its wage as well as granting the workers overtime,
\nannual leave and work safety.<\/p>\n
Seventeen of the 21 companies operating in Tanjung Morawa
\ndecided Saturday to resume operations after the military gave
\nassurances that there would be no more violence.<\/p>\n
The police still have 34 workers on charges of vandalism,
\nwhile 70 others are required to report to the police every day.<\/p>\n
The Armed Forces (ABRI) claimed last week that the independent
\nIndonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI) was responsible for
\nfanning the race riots and vandalism which have raged in Medan
\nand its surrounding areas for more than a week.<\/p>\n
The riots left a Chinese businessman dead, many cars damaged
\nand more than 100 shops ransacked or looted.<\/p>\n
The workers have complained about terrible wages, working
\nconditions and the Chinese domination of the local economy.<\/p>\n
North Sumatra Military Commander Maj. Gen. A. Pranowo has said
\nthat the riots have bordered on SARA, the Indonesian acronym for
\nthe four things most prone to upset national security and
\nstability: sectarianism, racism, tribalism and religious
\ndifferences.<\/p>\n
Communist<\/p>\n
He said that the strikers' tactics during the riots were
\neerily reminiscent of the methods of the outlawed Indonesian
\nCommunist Party (PKI).<\/p>\n
Medan Police Chief Brig. Gen. Soebandy also stated that police
\nwould take legal action against the rioters.<\/p>\n
The SBSI has denied any involvement in the riots. The Union's
\nchairman Muchtar Pakpahan said that SBSI had been carrying out
\nits mission peacefully and condemns all forms of violence.<\/p>\n
He said that the workers' rallies had been used by a third
\nparty to create chaos in the city and to discredit the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Luthfie Hakim, chairman of SBSI's team set up to investigate
\nthe riot, said that it would be impossible for the union to
\norganize such an action, especially when it involved violence.<\/p>\n
\"You can imagine. The Medan chapter of SBSI is manned by only
\nfive officials.\"<\/p>\n
The union also denied the allegations that many of its
\nmembers, including Muchtar, are former members of the now defunct
\nPKI.<\/p>\n
Mehbob, vice-chairman of the North Jakarta chapter, said
\nyesterday that the charges have been made simply to discredit the
\nunion.<\/p>\n
\"My parents are hajs. How could they accuse me of being a
\ncommunist?\" said Siti Marwiyah, chairwoman of the union's Bekasi
\nchapter in West Java.<\/p>\n
Sunarty, vice chairwoman of SBSI central executive board said
\nthat Muchtar's father died when he was six years old. She said
\nthat it did not make any sense at all to call Muchtar Pakpahan,
\nborn in the North Sumatra town of Balige, a communist. Muchtar's
\nfather, Sutan Djohan Pakpahan, was a farmer.<\/p>\n
In a related development, nine non-governmental organizations
\nhave issued a joint statement stressing that the Medan incident
\nwas mainly a labor issue.<\/p>\n
Spokesman Kartjono told The Jakarta Post in a telephone
\ninterview on Saturday that the perpetrators of the protest had
\nsucceeded in creating anti-Chinese sentiments.<\/p>\n
\"Indeed, we take side with the laborers. But the workers must
\nstage their protests peacefully,\" Kartjono said.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the alliance demanded the government refrain
\nfrom using violence while oppressing the protesters.<\/p>\n
Reactions<\/p>\n
The nine NGOs include the Institute for Self Reliance (Bina
\nSwadaya), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the
\nIndonesian Environmental Forum (WALHI), the Indonesian Welfare
\nFoundation (YIS), the Communion Churches in Indonesia (Parpem-
\nPGI) and the Indonesian Secretariat for Rural Development (SBD).<\/p>\n
Kartjono emphasized that it is high time to reconsider the
\ncurrent minimum wage and the restriction of labor rights.<\/p>\n
According to Kartjono, industrialists usually are not
\nsensitive enough to improve labor conditions and tend to keep the
\nstatus quo.<\/p>\n
He called on the haves to live modestly because they know that
\nmillions of Indonesian people still live in poverty.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, legislator Theo L. Sambuaga was quoted by Antara
\nSaturday as saying that the Chinese government had overreacted to
\nthe Medan riots. He said that every problems in Indonesia will be
\nhandled with the existing legal system regardless of tribe, group
\nor race.<\/p>\n
Wu Jianmin, spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry in
\nBeijing, has expressed concern over the riots in North Sumatra,
\ncalling for concerted efforts to defuse the situation.
\n(rmn\/09\/par)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/medan-relatively-calm-after-riots-1447893297",
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