400 pedicab drivers run amok in West Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Three shophouses and a motorcycle were torched and 12 cars badly damaged when 400 becak (pedicab) drivers attacked a district administration office in the Artha Senter business complex in West Jakarta Friday night.

Police said yesterday the violence on Jl. Mangga Besar IX in Taman Sari occurred after the local pedicab drivers, including those from neighboring Sawah Besar district, failed to find their vehicles which the authorities had confiscated earlier in the day.

City police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said that the people who triggered the attack had been identified, but refused to elaborate.

He also revealed that the police had identified infiltrators in the unrest.

West Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Timur Pradopo, who was at the scene, said officers had questioned four people as witnesses.

"As for possible suspects, we already have their names... they were all pedicab drivers from Taman Sari and Sawah Besar. But please wait for a further investigation." Timur said.

Witnesses said the drivers -- armed with metal bars, rocks and chains -- gathered at the temporary Taman Sari district office at about 9 p.m.

They came from Jl. Pangeran Jakarta and Jayakarta railway station, both of which are about 100 meters away.

"Some of them were seen pedaling pedicabs with two men in them," said eyewitness Tommy Hadi.

After failing to find their pedicabs, the mob went mad.

"They just blindly attacked the shophouses and tried to set fire to the district office," Edi Prapto, 40, one of the shop owners, recalled.

"Rocks were thrown," he said. "It was crazy. They smashed the windows of my car. I tried to save the car and moved away."

District officers seemed shocked and unprepared for the ambush. Many were seen running away to save themselves.

According to Tommy, worried residents, mostly Chinese- Indonesians, also tried to chase away the angry mobs.

"But the pedicab drivers kept on stoning and wrecking things.

"Some people in the crowd were yelling: 'Long live Mega! Long Live PDI!'"

Mega, the nickname of Megawati Soekarnoputri, is the leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party faction that is unrecognized by President Habibie's administration.

"Maybe the crowds were organized ... or maybe they were just yelling. I'm not sure. But they did quite a bit of damage here," Tommy said.

About 20 minutes later police arrived at the scene and dispersed the crowds with two warning shots.

"By the time the security officers (West Jakarta Police and West Jakarta Military District Command) took control of the situation, most of the crowd had escaped from the scene," Tohap Hutabarat, one of Taman Sari's Public Order officials, said.

After attacking the Taman Sari district office, the angry drivers headed to the nearby Glodok subdistrict administration office located on Jl. Keadilan 2.

Here, the mob destroyed six cars and injured the Glodok subdistrict chief, Dharmanto, who suffered minor head injuries after being hit with a metal chain.

"But the situation here was not as bad as in Artha Senter because nearby residents succeeded in herding the angry pedicab drivers away," Maj. Jamal, the head of the Taman Sari police precinct, said.

According to Tohap, the local public order staff carried out the crackdown against pedicabs on Friday in line with orders from the governor.

When asked to comment on the incident yesterday, Sutiyoso expressed his regret and urged the pedicab drivers to desist from such actions as they only made things worse.

"I have obtained information that the attackers were pedicab drivers from the nearby Taman Sari area, not from outside Jakarta. Well, if people said it is because of my decision this incident happened... I will take the blame.

"I have tried to do my best. As for returning them home, the city administration has set up a Rp 100 million fund that will run until August," Sutiyoso told the media after attending a city security briefing at Senayan.

At least 3,000 pedicabs have plied Jakarta streets since Sutiyoso allowed the three-wheeled vehicles to operate in the city again on June 24.

Sutiyoso revoked his decision six days later and announced his determination to remove all pedicabs from the city as stipulated in the City Ordinance No. 11/1988. (edt)