Shops damaged, houses torched in W. Java riot<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): Eight shops were damaged and five houses and
\nseven motorcycles torched when hundreds of people ran amok
\nyesterday in Jatiwangi, about 90 kms east of here, officials
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The riot that rocked the \"roof tile\" subdistrict town mainly
\ninvolved hundreds of pedicab (becak) drivers and blue-collar
\nworkers most affected by the worsening economic crisis, they
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Residents said the violence started at about 10 a.m. after an
\nhour-long protest by a group of 50 pedicab drivers over a 100
\npercent increase in the price of pedicab and bicycle tires. They
\ntargeted properties of people of Chinese descent.<\/p>\n
There was no word of injuries. Police said 19 rioters were
\narrested for looting pedicab parts and grocery stores along a
\nmain street.<\/p>\n
The situation was brought under control at about 1 p.m. after
\nhundreds of police officers and soldiers were deployed.<\/p>\n
Local military commander Col. Oding Mulyadi, who was on the
\nscene, told reporters that the people's patience was wearing thin
\nover the soaring prices of essential goods.<\/p>\n
He said the riot began when the protesters were joined by
\nminivan drivers who had been on strike since Monday, also in
\nprotest at rising prices of vehicle parts.<\/p>\n
Residents said the rioters \"freely\" pelted shops with stones,
\nlooted the contents and set fire to stores until security
\npersonnel arrived. Police said dozens of bicycles were burned
\ntogether with the shops.<\/p>\n
Heavy rain helped put out the fires and prompted many of the
\nrioters to disperse.<\/p>\n
West Java Governor R. Nuriana expressed his \"deep concern\"
\nover the violence.<\/p>\n
\"The Majalengka regent told me the unrest was sparked by the
\nincreasing prices of vehicle parts,\" he told reporters here.<\/p>\n
He said that while he could understand the people's plight he
\ndenounced the use of violence to express their desperation.<\/p>\n
A similar riot targeting people of Chinese descent erupted in
\nthe area in 1963.<\/p>\n
The riot occurred less than a week after hundreds of people
\nran amuck in the East Nusa Tenggara town of Ende where 21 shops
\nwere burned to the grounds and 71 others damaged.<\/p>\n
Like one in Jatiwangi, the Ende riot was started by people
\nangered by the soaring prices of essential commodities.
\n(43\/kod\/aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/shops-damaged-houses-torched-in-w-java-riot-1447893297",
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