Gutted buildings bear witness to brutality of May 1998 riots
Gutted buildings bear witness to brutality of May 1998 riots
JAKARTA (JP): A number of buildings burned and damaged in the
mid-May 1998 riots have been completely refurbished and are
receiving customers.
Such a scene can be seen in West Jakarta's busy Chinatown
Glodok area.
But scores of other buildings remain as they were a year ago
after the city was rocked by a massive uprising of its own
residents in many locations.
The building owners might have firm grounds for not removing
the scars of the riots from their buildings, reasons such as the
country's poor economy and the uncertain political climate.
But if one thing is for sure, it is that many people,
especially domestic and foreign tourists, see the riot-torn
buildings with their broken windows and burned facades as sights
that testify to the brutality of rioters in the May 1998 mayhem,
in which thousands died and which caused losses totaling billions
of rupiah.
Some of the "testimony" can still be seen in Cengkareng and
along Jl. Daan Mogot, Jl. Hayam Wuruk and in Kalideres in West
Jakarta, Cileduk and Cipete in South Jakarta, Klender in East
Jakarta and Jl. Samanhudi and Jl. Gunung Sahari in Central
Jakarta.
The city administration is, of course, unhappy with the
scenery.
After making a round-the-city trip recently, Governor Sutiyoso
likened the capital and its damaged buildings to a face full of
chicken pox marks.
"How will tourists be attracted to see the city if its
condition is like this?" Sutiyoso complained.
Owners and employees of the destroyed buildings told The
Jakarta Post recently that they would not restore the properties
anytime soon unless the country's political climate stabilized.
They say they see no benefit in renovating at the moment
because they are afraid their properties could again become the
targets of looting and vandalism during the electoral campaign
period between May 19 and June 4, or after the June 7 general
election.
"My boss has decided to see how the political scene develops
first before renovating. So I think there will be no construction
work for at least one year," said Darmawan, watchman of a
vandalized building on Jl. Hayam Wuruk in Central Jakarta. (ind)