City reels from weekend outburst of violence
City reels from weekend outburst of violence
JAKARTA (JP): The two days of rioting on Saturday and
yesterday which injured hundreds of people and saw the burning of
buildings and vehicles disrupted life in the city quite
dramatically.
Last night, thousands of people were stranded at Senen bus
terminal and along the streets of Salemba district in Central
Jakarta due to a shortage of buses.
Salemba was the area hit hardest in the rioting, described as
the worst rioting in over two decades.
Taxis were hard to come by in the area since Saturday morning.
The scarcity of public transport forced people to walk home
from the terminal, or towards streets less affected.
"I've been waiting at least two hours only to end up walking
like this, sweating, to another street to find other bus," said
Ivana, a bank employee.
The incident also caused problems for patients of state-owned
Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, located in the Salemba area.
A large number of people could not take their ailing relatives
to the hospital or visit patients at the hospital, because the
area had been blockaded by the authorities.
A pregnant woman, for instance, had to be carried in the arms
of her husband yesterday after getting out of a taxi whose driver
refused to get into the hospital.
Many taxi drivers refused to drive their passengers into the
area after Saturday's riots.
"Even though I made less than half of my target today I don't
want to risk the chaotic streets of Salemba until everything goes
back to normal," said taxi driver Ridwan.
At least two wedding parties held in Salemba were canceled on
Saturday evening at short notice.
"It seems that the patrons found out about the situation
because people came to deliver gifts to the couple and then
quickly left," Norman, a local inhabitant said.
The riots also paralyzed business in Salemba area and its
surrounding areas. Hundreds of shops closed, in fear of further
serious incidents.
Even food vendors were hard to find. On Saturday evening,
nearby Senen was deserted by street traders who abandoned their
properties as the crowd drew closer.
"We have no bus, no food and we're frightened, it's as if
we're having a war," another man said.
The angry mob on Saturday also struck fear in the hearts of
police and military personnel.
"It's better for me to quit tomorrow rather than obey my
commander's order to go into the crowd and calm them down," a
sergeant told The Jakarta Post at the scene late Saturday
evening.
Big buildings close to Salemba were being guarded closely by
military and police personnel.
A large number of people were still milling about Jl. Salemba
Raya and Jl. Kramat Raya yesterday. The streets were open to
traffic in the morning but were closed in the evening as the
crowd grew bigger.
The situation was complicated further by the fact that unknown
parties were using and occasionally jamming the frequencies
reserved for the police.
"We couldn't get in touch with headquarters to inform them of
the situation here," said an officer. This problem was first
detected a month ago.
The tense atmosphere in Salemba had little impact on other
parts of the city.
The rest of the city remained calm as people discussed the
riots, and dozens of tourists were seen along the main streets of
central Jakarta. (bsr)