More violence hits Java, Sulawesi as rumors abound

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of people attacked and looted shops in Java and Sulawesi yesterday following rumors of dramatic increases in prices of basic commodities.

The fresh mob violence hit the East Java town of Pasuruan, Ujungpandang in South Sulawesi and Banawa in Central Sulawesi.

In Pasuruan, hundreds of people attacked one shop and eight houses in the town's Kraton market, about 60 kilometers south of Surabaya, local police chief Lt. Col. Wisnu A. Sastro said.

He said the incident took place during a street demonstration protesting a kerosene price hike -- from Rp 400 to Rp 1,000 per liter. Twenty-nine rioters were arrested, he said.

"The situation is now under control," Wisnu told The Jakarta Post by telephone.

Wisnu refused to say who owned the damaged houses and store. "It's not important who owned the houses and store, they could be Chinese or anybody, just say in your report that a shop had its windowpanes smashed, and eight houses were attacked."

A SCTV news broadcast last night showed scores of riot police and soldiers in the streets of the coastal town which has been repeatedly hit by mob violence over the past year.

The private TV station also showed closed shops in Pasuruan while hundreds of people gathered at the sides of the streets under the gaze of the police.

East Java military spokesman Lt. Col. Soebagio said in a live interview with SCTV that the situation was "safe and under control" by last night.

"There is no need for locals to be afraid of doing their routine business. Their safety is guaranteed," he said.

In the South Sulawesi capital of Ujungpandang, around 300 people pelted stones at stores along Jl. Tinumbu Raya, near Cidu market, but were quickly contained by security forces that had been deployed across the town following rumors of rioting.

Four stores' windowpanes were smashed during the brief incident, eyewitnesses said.

Ujungpandang city police chief Col. Jusuf Manggabarani, who led the police operation, fired one warning shot into the air to scare off the mob.

Police arrested four teenagers caught red-handed pelting the stores, Jusuf told reporters.

The situation was brought under control by the late evening but the security forces maintained a visible presence.

It was the second such unrest in Ujungpandang in six months. Last September a massive anti-Chinese riot rocked the city leaving one person dead and dozens of stores wrecked.

In the Banawa subdistrict of Central Sulawesi's Donggala regency -- 35 kilometers west of the capital Palu -- a shopping mall was reportedly damaged and looted by a mob on Sunday evening protesting rising prices.

Antara reported the unrest was sparked by the escalating price of locally made brandy from Rp 4,000 (40 US cents) to Rp 4,500 per bottle.

"It involved a group of young men furious over the price hike," the report said.

It quoted a witness as saying that the unrest was contained only after officers from the Donggala regency police force were deployed to back up the local police.

No arrests or casualties were reported.

In East Kalimantan's capital Samarinda, Deputy Governor Suwarna Abdul Fatah is coordinating with the local police and military to anticipate any sudden increases in the price of kerosene and has also issued an instruction for the state-owned Pertamina oil company to organize sales of cheap kerosene in markets.

The move was made following reports that people in the city were unhappy with kerosene rising from Rp 400 to Rp 1,000 a liter, Antara reported yesterday. (aan/37)