Police records 69 riots between May and August

JAKARTA (JP): The police recorded 69 cases of unrest across the country between May and August during which officers arrested 4,828 people, National Police chief Lt. Gen. Roesmanhadi said on Friday.

Speaking at a media conference after a meeting with six provincial police chiefs, the three-star general did not disclose the number of fatalities or estimated the amount of material losses caused by the riots, which have further battered the country's ailing economy.

According to Roesmanhadi, 23 of the recorded riots were triggered by ethnic issues, 16 by political factors, 15 by economic reasons, six by (improper) law enforcement and the remaining nine had yet to be identified.

"We're still probing the remaining cases in the hope to further develop our strategy to prevent and anticipate any possible renewed nationwide unrest," he said.

The general hinted that major riots occurred in several cities in North Sumatra, Central Java, East Java, East Kalimantan and South Sulawesi.

Out of the 4,828 people nabbed during the disturbances, 867 had been named as suspects with 267 of these having been put on trial, he explained.

The world witnessed one of the major riots that hit the country in mid-May when the capital Jakarta turned into a quasi- war zone during three days of continuous unrest, looting and burning.

The authorities later announced that 1,190 people were trapped and burned to death, 27 killed by gunshots and dozens of others injured. Hundreds of buildings were set ablaze and emptied by looters, causing billions of rupiah in losses.

Roesmanhadi vowed to take stern action against those who wanted to benefit from the uncertain circumstances due to the ongoing political and economic turmoil.

"We're serious about handling riots," he said.

According to the general, the current situation had similarities with the conditions in the wake of the failed communist coup attempt in September 1965.

"In 1965, people were also facing economic problems over which they were easily provoked as well as uncertain political and social circumstances," Roesmanhadi said.

"It's just like what we're experiencing nowadays."

"That's why pak Wiranto warned us about the threat of latent communism which is not groundless at all," Roesmanhadi said, referring to Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto who said on Thursday that communists might have been behind the seemingly endless nationwide protests of the past few weeks.

Only last week, a fresh riot erupted in Bagansiapi-api in Riau province following rumors that Chinese-Indonesians had killed a native Indonesian. Some 400 buildings were burned but no fatalities reported.

A number of similar incidents with different backgrounds also occurred just this month in Kebumen, Central Java, and the North Sumatra capital of Medan.

During the media conference Roesmanhadi also disclosed that the police had seized some four million metric tons of rice in five provinces during their operations to uncover those responsible for the scarcity of rice in the country.

Half of the amount was confiscated in Jakarta, he said.

Roesmanhadi did not disclose the results of his meeting with the police chiefs of West Java, Central Java, East Java, Bali, North Sumatra and Riau.

"It was just a routine weekly meeting," he said.

He, however, warned people over the escalating vehicle thefts and violent robberies that had occurred in many parts of the country.

Police, he said, arrested at least 733 suspects in crimes in the above two categories in 12 provinces in the May-to-August period.

Roesmanhadi asked for public participation to create security and tranquility and to help the police do its job. (emf)