Students, youths burn Army vehicles<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Following their clash with police on Thursday,
\nstudent protesters, helped by youths and residents, vandalized
\nand set fire to at least five military vehicles on Jl. Salemba,
\nCentral Jakarta, on Friday.<\/p>\n
With hundreds of onlookers crowding the street, the mob
\nstopped passing vehicles, including public buses, to examine the
\nID cards of the occupants for members of the military and police.<\/p>\n
In one instance the crowd stopped a sedan bearing military
\nplates, shattered its windows and forced the uniformed soldier to
\nget out. While members of the crowd vandalized the vehicle,
\nothers manhandled the soldier.<\/p>\n
Among the youths were high school students in their uniforms.<\/p>\n
No police officers were spotted in the area as the violence,
\nwhich started at about 9:15 a.m., enveloped the area and lasted
\nuntil late in the evening.<\/p>\n
High-ranking police officers later said the police absence
\nfrom the area was a deliberate strategy to avoid provoking
\ngreater mass unrest.<\/p>\n
There were no reports of injuries or arrests.<\/p>\n
Many businesses closed early due to fears of rioting and
\nlooting.<\/p>\n
Students said they were upset by the clash on Thursday. They
\nsaid the police brutally beat them and attacked the UKI and YAI
\ncampuses in the Salemba area, leaving 13 students injured and
\nbroken doors and windows on the campuses.<\/p>\n
\"We're only targeting vehicles belonging to the Army and
\npolice,\" student Didit said.<\/p>\n
The clash on Thursday developed after students attacked the
\npolice with Molotov cocktails and stones when some 200 officers
\nblocked their way to the house of former president Soeharto on
\nJl. Cendana, about 1.5 kilometers from Jl. Salemba Raya.<\/p>\n
The about 800 student protesters grouped in Jarkot (City
\nNetwork) attempted to break the police cordon in an effort to
\nreach Soeharto's house.<\/p>\n
The students also burned the newly built Megaria traffic
\npolice post and beat a uniformed military police officer.<\/p>\n
Friday's unrest unfolded as students and members of the public
\nmilled in the Salemba area, home to businesses and several
\ncampuses, to stop passing vehicles.<\/p>\n
About 15 minutes later, a military L-300 Mitsubishi Colt
\nminibus was overturned and burned on Jl. Diponegoro.<\/p>\n
\"They halted the minibus, vandalized it and then burned the
\nvehicle,\" said Ricky Noverdo, a student from YAI university.<\/p>\n
He said the driver, wearing an Army uniform, was saved by
\nseveral students from the wrath of the crowd.<\/p>\n
Several minutes later, the people set ablaze two other
\nmilitary vehicles -- a Daihatsu Feroza Jeep and Toyota Kijang
\nminibus -- on the same street as thick black smoke billowed in
\nthe morning air.<\/p>\n
At about 10:30 a.m and shortly after 12 p.m. respectively, the
\ncrowd halted a military Suzuki Baleno sedan and a small military
\nbus, told the occupants to get out and set fire to the vehicles.<\/p>\n
Apparently concerned that a high-ranking officer might be in
\nthe sedan, two soldiers carrying rifles emerged from the nearby
\nTNI Family Welfare Union (IKKA) building and rushed to the sedan
\nwhich was being overrun by the mob.<\/p>\n
A warning shot fired by one of the soldiers was met by a hail
\nof stones from the crowd, who pursued the soldiers back to the
\nbuilding.<\/p>\n
A security guard at the nearby Indonesian Communion of
\nChurches (PGI) office, Giyos, said the students focused their
\nsearch on finding Army personnel.<\/p>\n
\"A military car driven by a Marine officer also passed along
\nthe street but the crowd let the car and the officer go through,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
About one kilometer to the north, two trucks loaded with
\npolice arrived at the Central Jakarta Police station. However, no
\nactivities were conducted.<\/p>\n
Several military police officers were deployed in front of the
\nstation to prevent motorists and Army personnel from passing
\nthrough the Salemba area.<\/p>\n
Central Jakarta Police Operation Control Commander Maj. Ricky
\nWakanno said the police decided not to deploy their personnel at
\nthe sites of unrest in a bid to avoid further clashes.<\/p>\n
\"It's our strategy to avoid more unrest. We understand that
\nthere were many local residents and street people who joined the
\nangry students,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Rear Marshal
\nGraito Usodo said TNI regretted the passive stance of the police
\nin dealing with the violence.<\/p>\n
He said it was the authority of the police to ensure safety in
\nsociety through halting all incidents of destruction and anarchy.<\/p>\n
\"If the police fail to stop the anarchy, it will worsen the
\nsituation in the country,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The anarchy will ruin the country's image before foreign
\ninvestors.\"<\/p>\n
Graito condemned the burning of the military vehicles but
\ninsisted the military would not take over the police's role in
\nenforcing security.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso also deplored the violence, saying
\nit might hinder the nation's economic recovery after two years
\nand a half years of crisis.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso, a former city military commander, recommended the
\npolice request the help of the military if they could no longer
\ndeal with mob violence.<\/p>\n
\"The number of police is limited. So they can formally request
\nhelp from the Jakarta Military Command,\" said the retired three-
\nstar general.<\/p>\n
At about 2 p.m., the crowd swelled and began to march to
\nSoeharto's residence.<\/p>\n
During the march, the students led the crowd in chanting \"Hang
\nSoeharto\" and condemning the military and police for protecting
\nthe former president from trial.<\/p>\n
As in previous days, the crowd was blocked by a cordon of
\ndozens of police personnel.<\/p>\n
Until 5 p.m., the crowd remained at the edge of Jl. Cendana.
\nThe people later moved back to the Salemba area and stayed there
\nuntil late in the evening. (06\/nvn\/dja\/asa)<\/p>",
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