Riots commonplace in RI<\/p>\n
By Ester I. Jusuf<\/p>\n
The following is the first of two articles reviewing the riots
\nthat broke out in Indonesia throughout the year.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The word \"riot\" which features prominently in
\nthe Indonesian press since the last part of this decade has three
\nsocial symptoms generally.<\/p>\n
The first is insurrection (unarmed popular uprising), the
\nsecond is mob looting, and the third is widespread gang fights
\nthat cause much destruction.<\/p>\n
The three symptoms marked its arrival following the July 27,
\n1996, forced takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
\nheadquarters on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
A riot broke out after a severe clash between the unarmed
\npeople who tried to take back the headquarters and the fully
\narmed military that defended the aggressors. After the masses
\nwere defeated and disbanded, they retreated, looted and burned
\neverything within their sight.<\/p>\n
From then on, riot after riot of every degree tore the country
\napart peaking at the May 1997 election. An uneasy calm ensued
\nwhich lasted until May 1998 when a savage riot broke out and
\nclaimed numerous victims.<\/p>\n
The military gunned down four Trisakti students demonstrating
\non May 13 and soon mobs in the thousands swarmed in a spirit of
\nrevenge through the Jakarta streets. The gathering quickly
\ndegenerated into riots in which buildings were burned and shops
\nlooted following brief clashes with the police.<\/p>\n
At least 1,100 people lost their lives in this riot, either
\nconsumed by fire or beaten to death. Ethnic Chinese were not the
\nonly citizens that fell victim. The riot comprised mainly of mass
\nlooting. The mobs took everything they wanted from shops, from
\nhouses of the rich, or from pedestrians on the street.<\/p>\n
What set the riot of May 14 to May 16, 1998, apart is the
\nallegation that there were organized rapes committed while the
\nriot was in progress. Facts show that there were a lot of rapes,
\nwhile it remains to be proven legally whether or not the rapes
\nwere organized.<\/p>\n
The second fact that is quite shocking is the military
\nadmitted that they knew all along the riot was going to happen.
\nThe Chief Director of the Army Intelligence Service (BIA), Zacky
\nAnwar Makarim was quoted as saying it to that effect in (Kompas
\nSep. 3, 1998). Zacky also acknowledged the presence of \"local
\nagitators\" in the scene.<\/p>\n
We can always ask ourselves whether there is any connection to
\nthe fact that the security officers were late and were also very
\nslow in solving the mystery, or to unveil the so-called
\nprovocateurs they had nabbed redhanded. The later phenomenon was
\nto become a recurring trend in later riots, such as the Ketapang
\nriot, Medan riot and Ambon riot.<\/p>\n
After the May riots, which inflicted much damage (in terms of
\nfinancial, lives, and nation's morale), again the country plunged
\ninto an uneasy calm. The people were shocked by the May
\nexperience but happy with the downfall of Soeharto from his 32-
\nyear iron rule.<\/p>\n
Two months later, riots broke out again in the Irian Jaya
\ncapital of Jayapura from July 1 to July 7, 1998. The crowd
\nrallied a demand for independence from Indonesia and the army
\ntroops opened fire (Suara Pembaruan, Sep. 10, 1998).<\/p>\n
Another riot also broke out in the Central Java town of
\nKebumen on Sep. 7, presumably stemming from an individual dispute
\nbetween a Chinese shop owner and a local thug. The thug summoned
\nhis friends from the local bus station and begun attacking the
\nChinese community as a revenge.<\/p>\n
Riots also broke out in the fisherman village of Bagansiapi-
\napi in North Sumatra, on Sep. 15, as a result of a personal
\ndispute between hoodlums. Fueled by rumors, the dispute quickly
\nturned into a wide-scale open fight between relatives of both
\nhoodlums (Suara Pembaruan, Sep. 16, 17 and 19, 1998).<\/p>\n
It was about this time that the famous \"ninja\" case came to
\nthe fore. Rumors have it that a number of organized killers
\ndisguised in Japanese assassins \"ninja\" fashion were on the loose
\npreying alleged dukun santet (shaman) in the East Java town of
\nBanyuwangi. In the process they had taken the lives of innocent
\nkiyais (Muslim religious leaders).<\/p>\n
In October, mobs began their revenge on alleged ninja which
\nset off a series of violent killings. Later, it was found out
\nthat eight groups of hoodlums were the main actors on the scene
\n(Kompas, Dec. 31, 1998) though it remains unclear as to who was
\nthe man behind them.<\/p>\n
The most significant in the series broke out after the Nov. 13
\nto Nov. 14 uprising. The press mistakenly named it a riot. A
\nrecord of nearly one million people took to the street, demanding
\ncancellation of the Special Assembly of the People's Consultative
\nAssembly.<\/p>\n
On Nov. 14, a small-scale clash between people and some
\nmilitary personnel nearly incited a riot but the students managed
\nto prevent it (Kompas, May 15, 1998).<\/p>\n
The students were caught by surprise, however, when a riot
\nwith religious overtones broke out in the Central Jakarta area of
\nKetapang on Nov. 22. The military put the blame on local
\nreligious leaders but the kiyais said it was the security
\nofficers who should be responsible for the riot (Kompas, Nov. 26,
\n1998).<\/p>\n
The kiyais said the army troops provoked the mobs by shooting
\ninto the air and failed to take lawful procedures against
\ncapturing provocateurs. A similar kind of riot also broke out in
\nKupang, a town in West Timor.<\/p>\n
The writer is Chairwoman of Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/riots-commonplace-in-ri-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }