Bus terminal back in business after violence

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)