Bus terminal back in business after violence

JAKARTA (JP): The busy Kampung Rambutan bus terminal in East Jakarta returned to normal on Thursday after fierce clashes between rival ethnic groups forced it to shut down the previous evening.

Although a reduced number of buses served fewer passengers than normal, many aspects of life in the terminal had returned to normal.

Scores of soldiers, marines and police officers were deployed at major bus terminals throughout the city to guard against further outbreaks of violence. Among terminals put under heavy guard were Pulogadung in East Jakarta, Kalideres in West Jakarta and in Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta.

Wednesday's clashes reportedly involved members of the Batak community and people originating from West Java and South Sumatra.

Two men died in the clashes and one man received serious head wounds.

City officials said that a Queen taxi, Kopaja minibus, five street stalls, four tire repair workshops and a number of huts and handcarts were set ablaze during the fighting.

A Dian taxi and three city-owned PPD buses were also damaged and many passengers were left stranded for hours.

The two dead men were identified as M. Flores Sihite, 23, a Kopaja minibus conductor, and Yana Suryana, 35, a bus conductor for Mayasari Bakti bus company.

Both men were stabbed in the abdomen, city officials said.

The injured man, Supindi, 34, was being treated for serious head wounds at the nearby Pasar Rebo hospital.

Police have arrested one man in connection with the unrest. The man in custody was identified as A. Simatupang. Police said he was caught throwing stones at a Kopaja bus parked in the terminal during the brawl.

"Simatupang is being held at Ciracas police subprecinct for further questioning," Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said.

The clashes erupted out of a seemingly minor incident on Tuesday, when an alleged pickpocket of Batak origin was caught on a Mayasari bus and beaten up.

Other Bataks in the vicinity of the terminal rushed to his assistance, turning the incident into a serious brawl.

Bus employees and food vendors, tired of being threatened by hoodlums, extortionists and pickpockets operating in the terminal, then waded in to tackle the Batak mob.

Terminal staff at first succeeded in containing the fracas, but hostilities resumed later in the evening and spilled out into the neighboring area.

Governor Sutiyoso urged the security forces to take stern action against hoodlums involved in the Kampung Rambutan unrest.

"If we do not take tough measures, it will give the impression that we let them do whatever they please," he said.

Mayasari Bakti director Azis Rismaya Mahpud said on Thursday that his company had suffered losses of Rp 90 million, pointing out that drivers and conductors had also lost earnings as a result of the disruptions to services caused by the unrest.

Azis did not give a detailed account of the damage.

Sixty Mayasari buses were operating on Thursday, each with four armed soldiers on board. The company's depot in Cijantung, East Jakarta, was also under heavy guard.

Mayasari, which was established over 25 years ago, reportedly earns hundreds of millions of rupiah a day through the operation of a fleet of 1,439 public buses.

Azis denied Mayasari employees played any part in the dispute.

"We were not involved in the clashes but we suffered the brunt of the losses," Azis said.

He disclosed that crooks operating in the terminal, particularly pickpockets and extortionists, had become a serious headache for both bus crews and food vendors in the area.

"They think that they're protected by members of the military so they just kept on twisting money out of us," he alleged.

On Thursday evening, two armored vehicles stood guard outside the terminal.

Confusion reigned inside the terminal, with many regular bus services suspended for the day.

"I don't know which other buses run on the same routes as Mayasari," said one middle-aged woman, adding that she was trying to get to Slipi in West Jakarta.

Subijanto, the official in charge of the terminal, said that services out of the terminal were running at only 30 percent of their normal level on Thursday.

During the clashes, 900 security personnel were reportedly deployed in the area.

Subijanto said he had invited all members of the terminal's community to sit down together with security officers and try to resolve their differences. That, he said, would prevent further clashes from breaking out. (emf/jun/ylt/ind)