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)