Glodok erupts after raids on pirated VCDs

Glodok erupts after raids on pirated VCDs

JAKARTA (JP): Rioting broke out in the capital's predominantly
ethnic-Chinese business district of Glodok on Saturday morning
after police raided street vendors selling pirated video compact
discs (VCDs).

At least four shops in the Harco Glodok electronic goods
shopping center and several others along with two automobile
showrooms on nearby Jl. Gajah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk were set
alight and vandalized. Looting was also reported from some of the
shops affected.

The incident sparked fear among Jakartans, particularly those
of Chinese descent, and reminded them of the riots, arson and
looting on the same date at several places in the city, including
Glodok, two years ago.

Police announced in the evening that they had detained eight
men in connection with the rioting.

Witnesses said that some of the rioters were carrying Molotov
cocktails. At least three policemen were injured during the
incident.

The busy streets in the area were quickly sealed off by
police.

Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said the
rioting broke out when angry stall owners in the area resisted a
raid conducted at 8 a.m. by a group of officers from the National
Police Headquarters.

He gave no further explanation about the raid, but his
statement clearly said that the officers conducting it did not
report their activity to West Jakarta Police as is required by
standard police procedure.

The street vendors then burned their stalls in protest at the
raid. A crowd of youths, including teenagers in high school
uniforms, later joined in.

The vendors usually sold their merchandise, mostly karaoke,
action films and pornographic VCDs, in front of the Harco Glodok
building, occupying almost half of the four-lane Jl. Hayam Wuruk.
Their choice of location always caused major traffic bottlenecks
in the area.

Earlier, witnesses said the raid was actually carried out by
Jakarta Public Order officials, not by police officers.

But Jakarta Administration spokesman Muhayat denied the
accusation, saying the raid was the police's business.

"We didn't plan nor organize the crackdown. The police didn't
even tell us about the operation," he said.

Police spokesman Zainuri said that "the detectives were
cracking down on pirated and pornographic VCDs sold by the Glodok
street vendors."

The fires lit by the vendors spread to several shops in the
Harco Glodok building, which had been renovated after it was set
alight by mobs in the May 1998 riots.

The mobs also stoned Caa hardware shop.

A crowd of people then joined the mob to protest the operation
and gathered in front of the Glodok Harco building. The people
then walked to the nearby Harmoni area.

Along the way, they damaged several shops and broke flower
pots. They vandalized the Tunas Toyota and Tunas BMW showrooms
and burned several things from both showrooms.

The owners had apparently already moved the cars from the
display rooms.

The mob also attacked a McDonald's fast-food outlet in Gadjah
Mada Plaza, stoning the windows before ransacking it.

Tenants at the plaza and residents living behind the building
tried to protect it from the rioters.

"It's part of our duty to guard the building. If the building
is damaged, we may lose our jobs," a resident, Hari, said.

Chief of city police operation control Col. Soenarko said his
personnel needed time to reach the scene.

"But we can't say they were late because they needed time to
be deployed," he told reporters at the scene.

"We have deployed 700 military and police personnel to curb
the riots from spreading to other parts of the city. They are
from the National Police Headquarters and from police precincts
in central, east and west Jakarta," he added.

He also said the officers were able to stop the rioting from
spreading by sealing off Jl. Gadjah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk.

The traffic started to flow normally again at 2 p.m.

Zainuri said some 900 officers were deployed from various
units to curb the rioters.

"Police arrested eight people who they suspect provoked others
to riot. They were detained at the National Police Headquarters,"
he said.

"City Police chief Maj. Gen. Nurfaizi has asked National
Police chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo to transfer the eight to us to
be questioned further," he added.

The riots on Jl. Gadjah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk forced some
shop owners, particularly those running their business near the
affected area, to temporarily close their shops.

In general, many business centers were open as usual.

At Pasar Baru and Senen shopping complexes in Central Jakarta
and even at several business centers in the Mangga Dua area, near
the scene of the rioting, shops were open as usual even though
their customers were few.

Lela, a staffer at Mal Mangga Dua shopping mall, said that
about 50 percent of shop owners had decided to continue trading
after the presence of security guards.

"Police trucks are stationed at each of shopping complexes
here, at least one for each building," she said.

The rioting was heavily condemned by the public. Some people
even believed that the incident might have been masterminded.

"The hundreds of people, where did they come from? They
suddenly appeared and ran amok," said legislator Burhan Djabir
Magenda.

Separately, officer Zainuri said the police had released all
of the six people arrested on Friday in a clash between police
officers and angry protesters near the residence of former
president Soeharto in the Cendana area, Central Jakarta.
(nvn/09/ind)