20 people injured in fresh Matraman brawl
JAKARTA (JP): A mass brawl broke out again in the Matraman area of East Jakarta on Thursday as residents of the bickering Palmeriam and Berlan subdistricts pelted rocks and threw Molotov cocktails at each other.
No fatalities were reported but at least 20 people from the Palmeriam subdistrict suffered injuries from air rifle shots by people from the rival neighborhood of Berlan.
The mobs also burned one house and the front part of the Lautan Berlian Bank building on Jl. Matraman Raya.
The brawl, which started at about 2 p.m., involved hundreds of people from the two neighboring subdistricts, some of whom armed themselves with swords and sickles along with motorcycle helmets and shields made from iron sheets.
Berlan residents also threw smoke bombs at people from Palmeriam as explosions were heard in Berlan subdistrict.
Some police personnel, who arrived on the scene at 3 p.m., failed to stop the clash and left after one of the security personnel was injured by a rock.
The brawl was finally curbed by some 100 riot police personnel from the Jakarta Police, who were deployed in the area at about 5:30 p.m.
Similar to previous clashes in the area, its cause was unclear, with people giving their own interpretations.
Some Palmeriam residents told The Jakarta Post that the clash erupted after some Berlan residents threw rocks at a house in the neighboring Kebon Manggis subdistrict, which was having a bonfire.
Shortly afterward, the Palmeriam residents helped Kebon Manggis residents to fight those from Berlan, they said.
However, secretary of the Palmeriam subdistrict M. Zahrudin told Astaga!com that the Berlan residents abruptly attacked Palmeriam which caused residents there to fight back.
"We were just back from a funeral of the father of the treasurer of the Community Welfare Organization (LKMD) when Berlan people attacked us," Zahrudin said.
No explanation was available from the Berlan side as the people in the subdistrict were hostile to reporters.
The authorities have tried to stop the continuing clashes between the two groups of residents. The areas were separated following the construction of a two-meter by 400-meter fence on the median strip on busy Jl. Matraman Raya.
Governor Sutiyoso personally inaugurated the Matraman Residents Communication Forum (FKPMM) on May 7 to reconcile the neighborhoods which have had a long history of destructive interfighting.
Sutiyoso gave East Jakarta Mayor Andi Mappaganti an ultimatum on June 2 to restore peace and order in the area or lose his job.
The Berlan area is known as a gedongan (wealthy residents with houses made of brick and mortar, to contradict those of ordinary ones made with woven bamboo) area, while Palmeriam is an ordinary residential area.
Continuous clashes between the neighboring residents have badly affected business in the area.
Several businesspeople said recently they planned to leave the area and run their businesses in a safer place as even insurance companies were refusing to provide cover. (08/bay)