General concerned over unrest
JAKARTA (JP): The newly appointed chief of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, expressed concern yesterday over the continuing social unrest as many areas remained tense.
No fresh riots were reported yesterday but the Southeast Sulawesi capital Kendari and the North Sumatra town of Rantau Prapat, the scene of major unrest Thursday, were tense, officials said.
Bus drivers in several cities in Java remained on strike to emphasize their demands that the government should lower prices of auto parts and increase bus fares in line with the price hikes.
Prabowo said yesterday he was aware that the riots, which have mostly targeted properties owned by entrepreneurs of Chinese descent, could endanger the nation's unity.
Prabowo, a son-in-law of President Soeharto, reiterated his stance that the Army remained committed to safeguarding security across the country.
"We will do our best to ensure the safety of all citizens regardless of their ethnic and religious backgrounds. I think the Armed Forces (ABRI) will not fail the people," Prabowo told reporters after attending a ceremony at ABRI headquarters.
Thousands of people enraged by soaring prices of essential commodities have run amok in several cities in Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi this week.
The angry mobs smashed shops and property owned by traders of Chinese descent, who dominate the retail sector in Indonesia.
Fears that more riots might erupt in the tense towns yesterday, especially after Moslems performed their Friday prayers, proved groundless.
In Rantau Prapat, about 400 kilometers southeast of Medan, the authorities said 10 people caught looting stores and houses on Wednesday and Thursday were still being questioned.
Military sources said the small town remained tense with police and soldiers patrolling the streets. Minor incidents occurred when people occasionally pelted shops with stones.
Local officials said the violence in the town was "spontaneous". Hundreds of people attacked dozens of shops they suspected were hoarding basic commodities.
"They are desperate people who are frustrated by the skyrocketing prices," an Army officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
Kendari was calm but tense yesterday after the military threatened to carry out the Armed Forces Commander's shoot-on- sight order if protesters turned violent.
People were seen gathered on roadsides as shops remained closed and few city buses operated, witnesses said.
A spokesman for the local military command said that the security forces in Kendari were on top alert in anticipation of fresh unrest.
An estimated 10,000 people, spearheaded by college students, took to the streets Thursday. They smashed shops along the streets, prompting the authorities to fire warning shots.
In Java, tens of thousands of people were stranded yesterday in Cilacap, Purworejo, Kebumen, Solo, and Magelang as hundreds of bus drivers went on strike.
They were protesting the rising prices of auto parts and essential commodities. Local administrations and the military mobilized their trucks and buses to replace the strikers' vehicles.
Agung Barman Zahir, the spokesman of the Attorney General's Office, warned Thursday that food hoarders could face the death penalty if they were found guilty of stockpiling essential commodities. (prb/imn/har/30)