499 dead in wake of rioting

JAKARTA (JP): The death toll from three days of rioting in Greater Jakarta topped 499 yesterday and police have rounded up more than 1,000 alleged rioters.

Jakarta was relatively calm but fresh violence was reported in several Central Java towns and emotions reportedly remained high in the West Sumatra capital of Padang.

Tension threatened to boil over again in Medan, North Sumatra, after security officers fired and wounded three students who were beating up a plainclothes officer they accused of spying during a meeting with legislative council members.

Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Wahab Mokodongan told a news conference yesterday that: "As of 7 p.m. tonight, the death toll was 499, including those burned to death and those who tried to save themselves by jumping from burning buildings."

"ABRI (the military) apologizes to all sections of the nation and to the Indonesian people for the conditions which exist at the moment," he said in a written statement.

"ABRI is already and will continue to work hard and is ready to risk all its credibility for the return of security and peace," he said.

The death toll continued rising yesterday because several smoldering shopping centers have yet to be thoroughly combed.

Deputy Jakarta Governor for Development Affairs Abdul Kahfi said 3,029 buildings, 950 cars and 513 motorcycles were destroyed or damaged.

Kahfi said 232 were killed and 69 wounded in Jakarta alone.

The bodies, mostly burned beyond recognition, had been collected from various shopping malls in Jakarta and Tangerang, as of 12 p.m. yesterday, he said.

Most of the remains were collected from Plaza Central Klender and Plaza Jatinegara in East Jakarta, Plaza Slipi Jaya in West Jakarta, Ramayana Palmerah in Central Jakarta, Ramayana Koja in North Jakarta and Plaza Ciledug in Tangerang, he said.

The 134 remains collected from Plaza Ciledug will be buried in a mass grave in Tangerang because there is no way to identify them, he added.

More than 300 looters, mostly teenagers, are believed to have been trapped in a fire at the fourth floor of Plaza Ciledug on Thursday night.

Morgue

Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital's morgue has received at least 239 charred bodies collected from the rubble of shopping centers throughout the city.

The morgue's head, Mardiana, said relatives were only able to recognize 54 of the bodies.

Hundreds of people flocked to the morgue yesterday in search of loved ones who had failed to return home after the shopping center fires. Only a few of them could identify the bodies.

M. Sani, whose son and daughter died in the ravaged Yogya department store, identified his son, Iwan, 21, but failed to find the body of his daughter Mulyani, 17.

The morgue received 44 plastic bags containing the bodies recovered yesterday from the department store on Jl. Ngurah Rai, East Jakarta. It was burned by rioters Thursday night and at least 198 bodies were recovered.

Eleven bodies were found in the gutted shell of the Glodok electronics center in West Jakarta.

The morgue also received two bodies from the Ramayana department store on Jl. Kramat Jaya, Semper, North Jakarta and a further 18 bodies were found in Slipi Jaya shopping center in West Jakarta Friday night.

Police said they had arrested 1,027 alleged looters, several of those were students, from various places all over the city.

"They were caught red-handed looting. Some 457 of those are detained at Jakarta Police Headquarters, while the rest are incarcerated at several police stations," a police spokesman said.

Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said yesterday that the situation was under control and called for business to resume in the capital.

"ABRI (Armed Forces) guarantees security," Sjafrie said.

Troops patrolled the city streets in armored vehicles in an obvious move to show they were serious in their threat to take stern action against troublemakers.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso appealed to all citizens who have taken refuge in hotels or abroad to return home because the capital had returned to normal.

"The security officers have guaranteed the safety of Jakarta residents," he said after touring the battered city.

Fresh riots

Fresh riots broke out in Central Java towns of Boyolali, Karanganyar and Sukohardjo Friday evening.

Dozens of shops selling basic commodities, showrooms and office buildings in Boyolali were stoned and burned by hundreds of rioters Friday evening. Dozens of vehicles and tons of basic commodities were destroyed or damaged.

Boyolali regent Syarial Makgalatung enforced a night curfew from 8 p.m. on Friday until 6 a.m. yesterday.

Similar rioting occurred in Karanganyar, where three supermarkets, a car and a motorbike shop, and a bank were destroyed yesterday. At least 10 cars and 30 motorbikes were burned.

The rioters also looted stores which sell sundries.

In Kartasura subdistrict, Sukohardjo regency, hundreds of rioters destroyed and burned three supermarkets, three banks and eight buses. A car belonging to the chief of the Sukohardjo District Police was also destroyed.

They also looted electronic stores before setting them ablaze.

Local police reported that 50 rioters were arrested during the unrest.

Smaller-scale unrest occurred in Sragen regency, with an office complex and a store selling basic commodities destroyed.

The Central Java capital of Semarang was tense yesterday as rumors of rioting abounded.

Shops, supermarkets and all banks were closed. Residents were seen queuing at Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) throughout the city.

Normalcy returned to Padang, West Sumatra, after mass social unrest in the city Friday, Antara reported.

"We (security officials) have been in control of the city since Friday evening," an on-duty security official said.

Security personnel stood guard at city corners, while some shop owners were seen repairing buildings stoned by rioters the day before. Most shops remained closed.

In Palembang, South Sumatra, Governor Ramli Hasan Basri instructed Sriwijaya Regional Military Command -- overseeing South Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu and Lampung provinces -- and South Sumatra Police, to take firm action against rioters.

"Our patience is wearing thin. The riots must be put to an end immediately," Ramli told reporters.

"The rioters stoned shops, hotels and office buildings, and burned them all after they had looted the goods," he said. (edt/ind/imn/har/jun/ivy/21)