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)