People on the move to escape riots<\/p>\n
By I. Christianto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Civil unrest as a result of economic and
\npolitical crisis has become a major concern of most people in the
\ncountry in recent months. And many people have become nervous
\nabout campaign activities, which start today (May 19) and will
\nlast until June 4.<\/p>\n
Political transformation is on the way: the campaigns will be
\nfollowed by a legislative election on June 7 and the appointment
\nof a president in September. Political rivalry is intense,
\nheightened with the participation of 48 political parties.<\/p>\n
Sporadic violence has occurred in several parts of the
\ncountry, including Central Java and Bali. Since March, at least
\n10 people have been killed and over 50 seriously injured in
\nclashes among party supporters while scores of houses have been
\ndamaged and hundreds of vehicles set on fire.<\/p>\n
There is no sign the tension will die down even though parties
\nhave pledged to carry out peaceful campaign activities and
\nhundreds of thousands of police officers and civilian militia
\nmembers are to be deployed during the election. Even chairman of
\nthe General Elections Commission Rudini acknowledged that the
\nbody has prepared strategies in case the election fails.<\/p>\n
It is expected that Indonesia is to have the first free and
\nfair election in over three decades. Ironically, instead of being
\nexcited, many people worry about security.<\/p>\n
The government has called on people to stay calm and has
\npledged to maintain security and order. Yet many foreigners and
\nIndonesians, particularly the Chinese-Indonesians, have
\nreportedly left the country for fear of riots that might break
\nout during the campaign activities and electoral process.<\/p>\n
International airlines and travel agents have reported an
\nincreased number of bookings for flights out of Indonesia this
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
Robi, an executive of a private company, says that there is
\nnothing wrong about going abroad for a while.<\/p>\n
\"We have to look for a safe place, but we'll return home after
\nthree or four months,\" he said last week before leaving for
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
He said that even though he is an indigenous Indonesian, he
\nhas to be careful about the safety of his wife and parents-in-
\nlaw.<\/p>\n
Another executive, Gary, said that he wished to go overseas if
\nhe had enough money.<\/p>\n
\"In my opinion, going abroad temporarily is just for security
\nreasons, but I'd still vote in the election,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A garment producer and shop owner in Mangga Dua shopping
\ncenter, Lily, said she was desperate with the current condition.<\/p>\n
\"Due to slow demand, production has decreased by up to 70
\npercent in the last two months. However, I am not scared to
\ncontinue opening my shop as the security is quite good in Mangga
\nDua,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She added she did not have any plans to go abroad because she
\nhas two children who are still too young to travel far.<\/p>\n
For some people, going abroad is the answer to the recent
\nunrest. Some others may wonder what to expect from a country with
\ndaily violence. Many are still haunted by riots in May last year
\nwhen more then 1,000 people were killed and hundreds of buildings
\nburned and damaged.<\/p>\n
A wave of student protests last year led to the riots in
\nJakarta and forced Soeharto to step down after 32 years in power.
\nReligious and ethnic violence has increased dramatically since
\nthe former president's downfall. Several analysts would agree
\nthat events in Indonesia were equally horrible in nature with
\nthose that have occurred in Kosovo.<\/p>\n
The United States has cautioned Americans about visiting
\nIndonesia before the election because of unrest related to an
\nunstable political and economic situation.<\/p>\n
Australia has also issued a general alert to Australians in
\nIndonesia, saying that public security in Indonesia was entering
\na time of heightened risk for the next five to six months.<\/p>\n
Other countries, including Belgium, Britain, Canada, Japan,
\nSwitzerland and Thailand have also issued travel advisories in
\nrelation to campaign activities from May 19 through June 4 and
\nthe election date.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, various housing complexes, shopping centers and
\noffice buildings have installed nets to anticipate possible riots
\nor at least stones thrown by party supporters.<\/p>\n
Those include the Mangga Dua, ITC Roxy Mas, Citraland, Atrium
\nSenen, Puri Indah shopping centers and several banks. Even the
\nU.S. Embassy has placed barbed wire barricades along the southern
\nside of Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Acung, a trader representative at Mangga Dua shopping center,
\nsaid that the surrounding nets installed for the center were
\nsemi-permanent.<\/p>\n
\"They will be removed soon after the condition is safe,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said traders at the center would run their business as
\nusual during the campaign period and on election day.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/people-on-the-move-to-escape-riots-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}