Life in Traubled Tasikmalaya slowly returns to normal

By MMI Ahyani

TASIKMALAYA, West Java (JP): Shops started to open and police officers began to patrol the streets yesterday as the town, ravaged by riots Thursday, struggled to resume some normalcy.

Hundreds of Moslem students were deployed to assist soldiers in cleaning up the mess left behind by the riots.

The students, from the Condong pesantren (Moslem boarding school), were deployed to erase agitating graffiti. They removed the writing "Moslem's House" that residents painted on their property Thursday in the hope of being spared by the mob.

Debris and wreckage of burned out cars that scattered the streets had been removed. Shops and buildings destroyed in the riots were boarded up to prevent more looting.

Informed local sources said casualties of the rioting rose to four yesterday with the discovery of another body in one of the gutted churches.

The authorities, however, could only confirm one dead, that of a woman identified as Giok Wiwie.

"The cause of her death was a heart attack," Lt. Col. Surmana Yudi of the Priangan Police Department said.

The woman was also found dead in a gutted church.

Surmana declined to speculate about the other victims. "We can only make an official statement about a death if we have an identity and the address. And we have to see the body," he said.

The military was also tightlipped.

"That can wait," said Lt. Col. Herman Ibrahim, chief spokesman of the Siliwangi Military Command. "The priority now is to restore peace and security and to restore the town."

Dozens of properties, including department stores, shops, government buildings and churches were burned during the rioting. Dozens of vehicles were also set alight.

Yesterday, the town's center began to show some activity.

Some shops opened, and there did not appear to be any food shortages, residents said.

Security presence remains heavy but soldiers appeared more relaxed compared to Friday.

Soldiers remained on full alert in various vital installations such as the Pertamina oil depot, state electricity and telephone installations and government buildings.

Police officers returned to their posts yesterday.

They were removed Thursday because of concerns that they could become prime targets of the mob that was angered by allegations of police brutality.

The riots were sparked by a rumor that one of the three teachers of a nearby Moslem boarding school who had been tortured during police investigation had died. The rumor proved false.

Soldiers took over the police's role, but yesterday their numbers were less.

"The people still need the police. Not every police task could be carried out by soldiers," Herman said.

He said that police were expected to take full control of security by Monday, without the help of the Army.

Herman yesterday met with representatives of the Inter-Church Advisory Council to discuss arrangements for Sunday prayers, given that many churches had been torched.

"Because of security considerations, we cannot let prayers be held at government buildings," he said. "But they can hold prayers in residences. We will guarantee their security."

Herman said that by yesterday, the military was still holding 78 people wanted in connection with the riots.

The Tasikmalaya police precinct held 24 suspects and the Ciawi precinct, a nearby town also besieged by rioters, another 18.