Five die in fresh outbreaks of riots in several cities
JAKARTA (JP): Two more people died yesterday as troops tried to end rioting sparked by steep price hikes, bringing to five the number of fatalities from unrest in several cities in the past two days.
Riot-hit cities and towns were tense yesterday under the watch of the military, who defended the shooting of the five rioters as acts of self-defense.
The two casualties yesterday were in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. At least nine others were injured in the fray.
One person died Friday in Lemah Abang regency in Cirebon, West Java, and two others were killed in Brebes, Central Java, the same day.
The chief of the Central Java military command, Maj. Gen. Mardiyanto, explained that troops were forced to open fire after rioters attempted to attack them with machetes.
"If the rioters try to hurt my men, I will not tolerate it," he was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday.
Separately yesterday, West Java Police Chief Maj. Gen. Chaeruddin Ismail also defended the shootings.
"There had been no direct order to shoot rioters on the spot, but officers are warranted in shooting if they find themselves in danger."
Protests at price hikes of basic commodities have spilled over into violence and looting -- frequently targeting property of Indonesians of Chinese descent -- across a wide area of the nation during the past month.
Cities and regencies affected include Jember, Pamekasan and Banyuwangi in East Java; Rembang, Brebes, Batang and Tegal in Central Java, and Ciasem, Sukamandi, Indramayu, Majalengka and Cirebon, all in West Java.
Antara reported rioting also occurred in Padangsidempuan in North Sumatra, and Buton and Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi. Riots have also hit Bima and Ende in West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara provinces in eastern Indonesia.
West Java military chief, Maj. Gen. Djamari Chaniago, said in Bandung yesterday the situation was tense but under control in several riot-hit West Java towns.
Djamari said 267 people were arrested following unrest in the towns of Pamanukan, Pagaden, Subang, Jatiwangi and Sindang Laut, and Patrol Lor village Friday and yesterday.
Djamari said the riots were anticipated, as the military believed unrest which began in East Java would move in a westerly direction.
"It has been expected the riots would move from East Java, Central Java, and finally to West Java," he said.
Dozens of stores belonging to Chinese-Indonesians were damaged, burned and looted during the riots in West Java, he added.
In Tanjung, a town near Losari, Brebes, Central Java, mobs damaged more than 60 shops yesterday. Antara reported that police escorted public buses through the city of Tegal, also in Central Java, after a bus was burned and two cars damaged shortly after midnight Saturday.
Police blamed the unrest on "children" and said the military took control of the situation immediately. It was reported, however, that many shops on main roads were closed Saturday.
The riot in Padangsidempuan broke out Friday, triggered by the skyrocketing prices of automotive spare parts. Mobs pelted shops, Antara said.
Another protest against price rises by about 1,000 people in the town of Bau-Bau, Southeast Sulawesi, proceeded without violence, it said.
In addition to the two people killed in the riot yesterday in Praya, Lombok Tengah regency, a police officer was among nine others injured in the incident, Antara reported.
"So far, the cause of the deaths is still unknown," the regency administration spokesman, Lalu Wirakarma, told the news agency.
Praya police chief, Lt. Col. Suwarno, said the unrest was also caused by higher prices of basic commodities. He said the situation had been brought under control.
In Jakarta, the National Police has banned mass rallies, effective for the week before and week after the March 1-March 11 meeting of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). The latter is expected to reelect President Suharto for a seventh, five-year term. (43/aan/swe)