Situation remains tense in brawl-torn Matraman<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Tension was the prevailing mood in the Matraman
\narea, East Jakarta, on Thursday as residents of the bickering
\nKebon Manggis and Palmeriam subdistricts remained cautious of
\npossible attacks following a fresh brawl on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
\"I'm afraid to go home. I think I'll sleep at the market,\"
\nInem, 55, who lives in the Berlan area in Kebon Manggis, but
\nsells small wood cupboards at the Palmeriam market, told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Margo Pambudi, a marine officer who was helping locals calm
\ndown told the Post that the brawl began after two people from
\nBerlan attacked a person who was standing in front of a Berlan
\nbus stop with a machete.<\/p>\n
\"Rumors immediately spread that a Berlan resident was attacked
\nby Palmeriam residents, and vice versa, which sparked the fresh
\nfight,\" Margo said.<\/p>\n
He said he had checked every house in both neighborhoods but
\nfound no casualties of a machete attack.<\/p>\n
\"I'm afraid that the injured victim is someone who was just
\npassing by,\" Margo said adding that he had identified the two
\nattackers, but needed witnesses to file a report to the police.<\/p>\n
The fresh brawl broke on Tuesday night. But, there were no
\nreports of injury or damage caused by the latest brawl in the
\narea, the second this month.<\/p>\n
Police said the brawl involved about 500 people from Palmeriam
\nand Kebon Manggis, which are separated by busy Jl. Matraman.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said residents pelted rocks and Molotov cocktails at
\neach other. Some managed to climb over a two-meter by 400-meter
\nfence which had been erected on the median strip by the
\nauthorities to keep the two groups apart. Others used nearby
\npedestrian bridges to attack the other side.<\/p>\n
Some 100 members of the National Police's Mobile Brigade
\n(Brimob) were deployed to disperse the crowd in the early hours
\nof Wednesday and peace was restored immediately. They made no
\narrests.<\/p>\n
East Jakarta Police detective Capt. Agus Irianto said his
\noffice was investigating the cause of the latest brawl.<\/p>\n
Palmeriam residents said they were enjoying a bonfire when
\nBerlan residents launched the attack.<\/p>\n
Six people were injured in a previous brawl in the area on
\nJune 1.<\/p>\n
Separately, Governor Sutiyoso expressed his disappointment
\nover the fresh Matraman brawl.<\/p>\n
\"I'm very disappointed with it because they agreed last April
\nto live together peacefully,\" he told reporters on the sidelines
\nof a ceremony to commemorate Earth Day at the Halim
\nPerdanakusumah water dam in East Jakarta on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The construction itself has attracted much criticisms, many
\nsaying it wouldn't solve the problem.<\/p>\n
Noted sociologist Sardjono Djatiman of the University of
\nIndonesia said rivalry between the two villages was an old story.<\/p>\n
\"The city administration has to understand the roots of the
\nproblem to solve it comprehensively. Constructing a fence won't
\nsolve the problems,\" he said in a recent talk show at the City
\nCouncil building.<\/p>\n
\"The Berlan area is known as a 'gedongan' (wealthy residents'
\nhouses made of brick and mortar, to contradict those of ordinary
\nones of woven bamboo) area, while Palmeriam is an ordinary
\nresidential area.<\/p>\n
\"Youths of both villages have warring enemies since then. It
\ncontinued when Berlan was set up as a military housing complex,\"
\nhe added. (06\/08\/nvn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/situation-remains-tense-in-brawl-torn-matraman-1447893297",
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