City returns to normal despite four bomb threats

JAKARTA (JP): Four bomb hoaxes disrupted the city yesterday but business activity in shopping centers and office buildings was largely back to normal.

Shops in the Mangga Dua shopping malls and the Glodok electronics market in West Jakarta, and the Pasar Baru and Senen in Central Jakarta, which were all closed on Tuesday, were crowded with shoppers yesterday.

Ambara, an assistant at a computer store in Glodok, said "We still have to be alert even though we are open."

However a number of nightspots in the nearby Mangga Besar area were still closed, due to rumors of a new wave of riots.

An owner of a karaoke hall said owners of entertainment sites will wait and see what happens today before deciding whether to reopen.

The embattled chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party, Megawati Soekarnoputri, is scheduled to file a lawsuit today against the government at the nearby Central Jakarta District Court.

"We decided yesterday that we will close our centers for at least three days while we monitor developments," the source, who requested anonymity, said.

Traffic jams were visible again in the downtown area.

At least four bomb threat calls were made. One target was a private mailing company, CV Titipan Kilat on Jl. Raden Saleh in Central Jakarta.

Some 200 employees of the firm were evacuated after two receptionists received two phone calls each, saying there was a box containing a bomb in the building.

Receptionists Sulistini and Diatiningsih, who received the calls from an unidentified man at 10 a.m, reported the calls to their employer. But Sulistini collapsed when running to make the report.

Another target was the Sarinah department store on Jl. MH Thamrin.

The Bank BNI building on Jl. Sudirman, and the Permata Plaza, also on Jl. MH Thamrin, received similar threats.

The Army's bomb disposal squad found nothing suspicious anywhere after searching for two hours.

The bomb threat received by an operator at Sarinah, a high- rise store frequented by tourists, was apparently ignored by employees and shoppers.

On Tuesday, at least eight bomb-threat calls were made to banks, office buildings and shopping centers.

Yesterday police continued to disperse crowds of students either leaving or heading for school, in case they were coaxed into joining potential riots.

A few schools were still closed, including the Kanisius private school in Central Jakarta.

In Tangerang, security was significantly reduced. Only a few marines were on guard while on Tuesday they were placed in several locations.

The main bus terminals of Cikokol and Cimone catered to their normal crowds after hundreds of commuters had taken the day off Tuesday.

Luxury shopping centers like Lippo Supermal in the Karawaci district were still quiet until late afternoon. However soldiers were no longer visible.

In Bogor, south of Jakarta, things were back to normal after one bomb hoax was reported Tuesday at a branch of the Bank Central Asia on Jl. Juanda, one of the town's main roads.

Bomb threats also spread to Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi.

One call about a bomb was reported to be targeted at the state-owned PT Pelabuhan Indonesia IV port company.

The call at 10:15 local time was made a few hours before an official visit by Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto.

The six-story building and the port were thoroughly checked before the bomb squad concluded the alarm was false.

Company employees and hundreds of passengers on the KM Binaiya heading for Maumere in Irian Jaya, were nervous and some panicked. (jun/bsr/anr/28)