Jakarta tense after flare-up

Jakarta tense after flare-up

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of armed soldiers and police patrolled
streets in Central Jakarta yesterday, amid tension following
massive unrest triggered by the takeover of the disputed
headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

Using tear gas and canes, police charged at a crowd which
attempted to stage yet another protest yesterday afternoon. They
rounded up about 30 people from among the 200 who were gathering
outside the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute, bringing the number
of people detained during the weekend to over 200.

Some 170 were arrested on Saturday. They were mostly loyal
supporters of the ousted PDI chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri.

As of yesterday afternoon, thousands of people were still seen
thronging the alleys along the Salemba area. At about 5 p.m.,
hundreds of people on motorcycles tried but failed to break
through the police cordon to enter the Atrium Shopping center in
the Senen district.

The military yesterday issued a stern warning against further
attempts to disrupt peace and order. Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief
Gen. Feisal Tanjung blamed the rioting that took place after the
clashes at PDI headquarters on "irresponsible persons or groups"
who exploited the internal conflict in the minority party in an
attempt to create anarchy and threaten the nation's stability.

Injuring dozens of people, the rioting started at about 7 a.m.
on Saturday morning with the attack on the headquarters by a
group of people wearing red bandanas and T-shirts emblazoned with
the sentence "supporters of PDI 4th Congress in Medan".

Some 200 Megawati supporters were inside at the time of the
raid. They were among the hundreds who had held vigil at the
headquarters for the past month to prevent Soerjadi, the chairman
elected by the government-supported PDI congress in Medan, from
moving in.

Eyewitnesses said the group attacked by hurling stones and
Molotov cocktails into the office, while riot police stood back
watching. Those who were inside the building responded by
climbing onto the roof and pelting their attackers with tiles.

Some two hours later, the attackers and the police stormed the
building at Jl. Diponegoro 58. Minutes afterwards, those inside
were brought out and led into several military trucks parked
nearby.

Many were visibly injured and were taken in ambulances to the
Gatot Subroto Army Hospital, Police Hospital in Kramatjati and
another hospital in the Cikini area. The rest were taken to the
Jakarta Police office for questioning.

Security personnel then cordoned off the area.

Chief of Central Jakarta Police office Lt. Col. Abubakar
Nataprawira said Soerjadi's faction requested that the police
protect the office.

"I declared the headquarters closed as of 9 a.m.," he said on
Saturday. "We have sealed off the office. No one is allowed to
enter...We did not want any victims.

"We had asked that the Megawati supporters come out peacefully
so that Soerjadi supporters could take over the office.

"But the Megawati supporters would not give up and the
Soerjadi supporters went out of control. This is why we have
taken over the office. We have taken Megawati's supporters to the
city police headquarters because if we don't, there could be
further clashes," he said.

Secretary-general of Soerjadi's faction, Buttu Hutapea, denied
that violence was used in the takeover. "We've been patient
enough. Had we wanted violence, we would have taken this place
over days before, because it's been misused for too long," he
said, referring to the daily, noisy free speech forum held there
since Megawati's dethronement.

Later in the morning, hundreds of youths began gathering at
the eastern end of Jl. Diponegoro. Their number swelled into the
thousands as nearby residents and other people joined the throng.

The crowd began chanting "Long live Megawati" and insulted the
two layers of riot police who stopped them from entering the
section of street where the office is located.

Shouting abuse at the security forces, the group then began
pelting the police with stones.

At about 3 p.m., the demonstrators pushed the troops back
several yards with their stone hurling, but minutes later the
troops retaliated and charged at the mass of people with teargas,
rattan sticks and canes.

The troops beat spectators and passersby, injuring at least 20
people who were then taken to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General
Hospital.

The driven mob vented their anger over the harsh treatment by
burning three public buses in front of the hospital and St.
Carolus Hospital.

The demonstrators then went on a rampage on Jl. Matraman Raya,
setting several buildings on fire.

The military said yesterday that 22 buildings were either
burned or damaged, including two buildings of Bank Harapan
Sentosa in Cikini and Jl. Matraman, Bank Mayapada and Bank
Swarsarindo Internasional, and two car showrooms. No fire
brigades were sent to put out the fires.

Police and troops in a number of trucks and armored vehicles
drove down the road. Every so often they climbed out of their
vehicles to chase the rioters who pelted stones at them before
quickly hiding in alleys along Jl. Salemba and Jl. Matraman.

The rampage went on until late Saturday night with the mob
moving north, burning other buildings on the way, including the
Bank Ekspor-Impor Indonesia and Bank Dagang Nasional Indonesia
near the Kramat-Senen intersection.

A man, reportedly a security guard, was trapped on the 7th
floor of the Darmex building which housed Bank Eksim and tried to
climb down through a window using a makeshift cloth rope.

He slipped and fell to his death.

Troopers charged at the mob for the second time on Saturday at
about 10:30 p.m.

A peaceful demonstration in support of Megawati was also
staged by a group of 2,000 people in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi
on Saturday.

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Soon after the takeover of the headquarters, shops and offices
in the surrounding areas were closed, including the cineplex in
the nearby Metropole shopping/entertainment center.

The leadership of the Moslem-oriented United Development
Party, the office of which adjoins the PDI headquarters, said in
a statement that "the mass violence" was conducted by a group of
people intent on disturbing peace and order and security.

A number of residents on Jl. Diponegoro expressed concern over
the clashes at the PDI office and the ensuing rioting.

Mrs. Sumarti Budiardjo, wife of the late Lt. Gen. T.B.
Simatupang, a former Army chief of staff who fought for
democratic rule in the Indonesian military, and wife of the late
first vice president Mrs. Rahmi Hatta were among those who could
not leave their houses because of the trouble.

"The free speech forum was noisy...but I respect their (the
supporters) rights," Mrs. Sumarti said.

"Soerjadi and his group should quit gracefully so that no
innocent people become victims," Mrs. Rahmi Hatta was quoted by
her daughter Meutia as saying before the morning clash. "(He
should try to) withdraw the troops from the headquarters."

A private medical practitioner who was summoned to attend the
wounded in the party headquarters said the place was
"overflowing", with wounded people lying all over the place.

"I cannot say how many," Dr. Djarot H. said.

"I was forced to work, stitching up patients, amid a shower of
stones...It was so strange that when the attack began the police
did not do anything," he said. "I've never seen anything like
this... I only managed to stitch up four people."

By noon, as all roads leading to the headquarters were closed
off, the Matraman, Jatinegara and Kramat streets were congested.
A taxi driver said it took him almost three hours to get from
nearby Jatinegara to Cikini. (team)