Military threatens tougher measures against rioters

Military threatens tougher measures against rioters

JAKARTA (JP): The authorities will get tougher on rioters to
prevent Rengasdengklok and Tasikmalaya-style mob violence from
happening again, Armed Forces Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung said
yesterday.

But the authorities would stick to the prevailing laws in
handling mass riots, he said.

"ABRI (the Armed Forces) will not hesitate to take harsh
measures against those that take part in riots," said the general
in Bandung.

Feisal reiterated his belief that the Rengasdengklok and
Tasikmalaya riots which caused massive destruction to non-Moslem
properties were "masterminded by a third party".

He claimed ABRI had the names of people it believed were
behind the religiously and ethnically-motivated riots in both
West Java towns.

"It is highly suspicious that thousands of people amassed in a
short time and then went on the rampage. There must have been
people who instigated them to do so," he said, reported Antara.

Feisal claimed he had the names of the alleged instigators but
declined to make them public on the grounds that more hard
evidence was needed.

A riot broke out in Rengasdengklok, about 70 kilometers east
of Jakarta, Thursday. Eyewitnesses and police said it was
triggered by a woman of Chinese descent who had complained that
Moslem youths in the mosque next to her house were too noisy when
they beat drums and called neighbors to break the fast.

In the riot that followed, 70 houses, 72 shops, four churches,
two Buddhist temples and 26 vehicles were wrecked. Rengasdengklok
remained tense yesterday as authorities cleaned it up.

In a larger riot in Tasikmalaya the day after Christmas, four
people died in the day-long incident which also targeted Chinese
and Christian properties and police posts.

Feisal said he had ordered all police and military commands
nationwide to stay on the alert for possible riots.

"Military district leaders are required to communicate what is
happening in their area of jurisdiction to the authorities at
higher levels," he said.

He described the burning and looting as incompatible with
Indonesian culture. It was precisely what the PKI (Indonesian
Communist Party) did in the past, he said.

In Jakarta, chairman of the Agency for Pancasila Propagation
Alwi Dahlan appealed to scholars not to draw "instant
conclusions" about incidents without investigation.

"Making conclusions in this case is not as easy as preparing a
glass of tea... The drink is ready immediately after the tea bag
is put into the water," he said.

"They speak into their microphones without scientific
investigation. It's good for them because their comments appear
in the media." (pan)