People on the move to escape riots

By I. Christianto

JAKARTA (JP): Civil unrest as a result of economic and political crisis has become a major concern of most people in the country in recent months. And many people have become nervous about campaign activities, which start today (May 19) and will last until June 4.

Political transformation is on the way: the campaigns will be followed by a legislative election on June 7 and the appointment of a president in September. Political rivalry is intense, heightened with the participation of 48 political parties.

Sporadic violence has occurred in several parts of the country, including Central Java and Bali. Since March, at least 10 people have been killed and over 50 seriously injured in clashes among party supporters while scores of houses have been damaged and hundreds of vehicles set on fire.

There is no sign the tension will die down even though parties have pledged to carry out peaceful campaign activities and hundreds of thousands of police officers and civilian militia members are to be deployed during the election. Even chairman of the General Elections Commission Rudini acknowledged that the body has prepared strategies in case the election fails.

It is expected that Indonesia is to have the first free and fair election in over three decades. Ironically, instead of being excited, many people worry about security.

The government has called on people to stay calm and has pledged to maintain security and order. Yet many foreigners and Indonesians, particularly the Chinese-Indonesians, have reportedly left the country for fear of riots that might break out during the campaign activities and electoral process.

International airlines and travel agents have reported an increased number of bookings for flights out of Indonesia this month.

Robi, an executive of a private company, says that there is nothing wrong about going abroad for a while.

"We have to look for a safe place, but we'll return home after three or four months," he said last week before leaving for Malaysia.

He said that even though he is an indigenous Indonesian, he has to be careful about the safety of his wife and parents-in- law.

Another executive, Gary, said that he wished to go overseas if he had enough money.

"In my opinion, going abroad temporarily is just for security reasons, but I'd still vote in the election," he said.

A garment producer and shop owner in Mangga Dua shopping center, Lily, said she was desperate with the current condition.

"Due to slow demand, production has decreased by up to 70 percent in the last two months. However, I am not scared to continue opening my shop as the security is quite good in Mangga Dua," she said.

She added she did not have any plans to go abroad because she has two children who are still too young to travel far.

For some people, going abroad is the answer to the recent unrest. Some others may wonder what to expect from a country with daily violence. Many are still haunted by riots in May last year when more then 1,000 people were killed and hundreds of buildings burned and damaged.

A wave of student protests last year led to the riots in Jakarta and forced Soeharto to step down after 32 years in power. Religious and ethnic violence has increased dramatically since the former president's downfall. Several analysts would agree that events in Indonesia were equally horrible in nature with those that have occurred in Kosovo.

The United States has cautioned Americans about visiting Indonesia before the election because of unrest related to an unstable political and economic situation.

Australia has also issued a general alert to Australians in Indonesia, saying that public security in Indonesia was entering a time of heightened risk for the next five to six months.

Other countries, including Belgium, Britain, Canada, Japan, Switzerland and Thailand have also issued travel advisories in relation to campaign activities from May 19 through June 4 and the election date.

Meanwhile, various housing complexes, shopping centers and office buildings have installed nets to anticipate possible riots or at least stones thrown by party supporters.

Those include the Mangga Dua, ITC Roxy Mas, Citraland, Atrium Senen, Puri Indah shopping centers and several banks. Even the U.S. Embassy has placed barbed wire barricades along the southern side of Jl. Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta.

Acung, a trader representative at Mangga Dua shopping center, said that the surrounding nets installed for the center were semi-permanent.

"They will be removed soon after the condition is safe," he said.

He said traders at the center would run their business as usual during the campaign period and on election day.