Influential public figures, residents deplore lootings

JAKARTA (JP): Residents were in dismay and some in fear in the aftermath of widespread looting and destruction of public property which has been strongly condemned by religious and community leaders.

Islam condemns the looting of shops and houses of people of Chinese descent and other non-Moslems, the influential chairman of the 28-million-strong Muhammadiyah Moslem organization, Amien Rais, said here yesterday.

"There's not a single verse in the Holy Koran that justifies the looting of Chinese houses as halal (permissible)," he told 2,000 Moslems after performing a Friday prayer at the Al Azhar Mosque here.

"Looters must be clobbered," Amien said in response to the widespread unrest.

Witnesses have said rioters had often targeted buildings and shops believed to be owned by ethnic Chinese.

The chairman of the 30-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization, Abdurrahman Wahid, called on people to remain calm and for a restoration of order.

"I call on people to be calm, and security forces also should show restraint in their duties," he told journalists.

A statement signed by Abdurrahman, ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches Sularso Sopater and executive secretary of the Indonesian Bishops Conference M.J. Notoseputro, also urged a stop to all forms of violence and called for those guilty of criminal actions to be prosecuted under the law.

The Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) in a statement also expressed concern and regret over the events which have unfolded in the capital.

"ICMI observes that the recent sequence of events is an accumulation of various problems of the nation and the state which have been left unresolved," the statement read.

Fear

Meanwhile, residents peered out into the streets with dismay in the aftermath of the worst series of riots to hit the city in decades.

Some wondered how long the tense situation would linger, as others began to worry about their safety and how they would get their daily needs in the days to come now that many supermarkets and stores had been looted.

Jamila, a housewife in the Daan Mogot Baru housing complex in West Jakarta, said she was living in fear in her neighborhood dominated by ethnic Chinese.

"There was looting in the Daan Mogot Mall, and rumors last night said rioters were heading to the complex," the mother of three pre-teenaged children said yesterday.

She said households in the neighborhood had donated Rp 100,000 (US$10) each to local youths to help them secure the complex.

Unlike Wednesday night, however, an armored vehicle was now parked just outside the complex with several soldiers guarding the area.

"It's just so scary to see those looters. It's as if they were possessed by Satan. From the television, we can watch how happy and innocent they look as they loot and burn stores," she said.

"So, I think it would be OK for security forces to shoot at them," she told The Jakarta Post.

Jamila was perplexed when asked where the looters had come from, especially when she had been told by neighbors that some of the rioters nabbed by guarding residents were found to be from the Senen area in Central Jakarta.

"How long do you think the tense situation will last," she asked.

The calamities have hit the poor and famous alike.

Fashion designer Ramli said he never expected the situation to deteriorate so badly.

He said people might be "hotheaded" but they should have been "cool in the heart".

Ramli said he was jolted at how events had affected life in Jakarta's streets which he found almost deserted yesterday.

He told the Post that even finding a restaurant in the usually crowded main street of Jl. MH Thamrin was difficult.

The city was relatively quiet yesterday, but crowds of people were still seen on the streets.

Some wreckages of burned cars and motorcycles still lay scattered on many streets.

Many motorists were also disappointed when they found gas stations that had remained closed, some gutted by fire.

An employee of the Ministry of Public Works, Yarsin, said he was bewildered and angry at rioters who had targeted gas stations.

"The rioters shouldn't have looted filling stations since we need the gasoline. All of us, as well as them, will suffer without gasoline," Yarsin said. (team)