Riot-induced losses 40 percent more than city budget

JAKARTA (JP): The three days of rioting in the city has left 5,000 buildings worth Rp 2.5 trillion damaged.

The figure, which is 40 percent higher than the city budget for this fiscal year, was announced last night by Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry/Chairman of the National Development Planning Board Ginandjar Kartasasmita before a meeting with President Soeharto.

According to Ginandjar, the damaged and gutted buildings included 534 bank offices and branches.

"The destruction of offices and banks did not only disturb local trading activities, but damaged the whole trading system and our national economy," he said.

He gave no estimates for damage and loss of merchandise and vehicles.

Rioting from Wednesday to Friday cost 500 lives and left most Jakartans living in fear.

However, the capital and surrounding areas had begun to return to normal again yesterday.

Some shops and traditional markets were open, although only a handful of customers were received all day.

"At least we could open for business like on normal days," Wati, a street seller in Bekasi, said.

Taxis, buses and other public transportation vehicles also returned to the city's streets.

Many Jakartans spent their weekend touring areas damaged during the rioting.

Local authorities sent out teams to clear wrecked vehicles and debris from the city's streets.

"It's a dreadful scene. I have no idea whether or not businesspeople wanted to rebuild this shopping center, which used to be a landmark for people like me who live in this area," Triana said, referring to the Slipi Jaya shopping center on Jl. S. Parman in West Jakarta.

In many riot-torn areas, the owners of damaged businesses and their employees returned to where they work to inspect damage and begin the slow process of rebuilding their livelihoods.

Street sweepers were busy removing glass and iron buckled by flames from Glodok in West Jakarta, the area worst hit last week.

Meanwhile, on the city's main streets armored vehicles and dozens of army personnel, mostly from the Strategic Army Reserves Command, Jakarta Military Command and the Marine Corps stood guard.

In East Jakarta, a minivan driver threw a newspaper at the gutted toll booth on the Kampung Rambutan toll road and shouted "You take my Rp 500!", as though paying his toll fee.

City residents expressed hopes that the riots had now ended. "We hope our nightmare is now over," Dimyati Bahar, a shop attendant at Permata Hijau shopping center in West Jakarta, said.

She worried that major student rallies scheduled to be staged in Jakarta from tomorrow might exacerbate the situation in the city.

Bodies

Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital medical staff have identified 263 of the hundreds of bodies taken to the hospital since Friday.

Twenty three were the bodies of women.

In Tangerang, staff from the local general hospital disclosed that 50 corpses had been brought in from gutted shopping centers yesterday, 43 of which were discovered in Lippo Supermal in Karawaci.

The death toll was calculated by counting skulls or other recognizable body parts. Hundreds of plastic bags containing unidentified human remains are being held in the hospital's morgue.

Cipto Mangunkusumo forensic expert Bambang HP thought that more bodies would be recovered from wrecked shopping centers.

"But I believe that most bodies will be difficult to identify because they will be badly charred and decomposed," Bambang told reporters.

As of yesterday, only 66 bodies had been identified by relatives at the hospital, but not all had been taken for burial.

According to Bambang, the remains -- if not claimed by relatives -- will be buried in a mass grave in Pondok Rangon Cemetery in East Jakarta and a public cemetery in Tangerang today.

The bodies were recovered from Plaza Central Klender and Plaza Jatinegara in East Jakarta, Plaza Slipi Jaya in West Jakarta, Ramayana Palmerah in Central Jakarta, Ramayana Koja in North Jakarta, and Plaza Ciledug and Lippo Supermal in Tangerang.

A day earlier, Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Wahab Mokodongan told a news conference that the death toll stood officially at 499 at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

At least 14 police posts were badly damaged during the riots.

They were located in Krekot, Petojo, Roxy, Mangga Dua, Megaria, Matraman, Tomang, Jelambar, Setiabudi, Utan Kayu, Cawang, Rawa Bening, Pulomas and Cililitan.

Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said the force had temporarily rented nearby buildings until their posts were rebuilt. In other cases, duties were being transferred to nearby police stations.

"For instance, Megaria police post duties have been transferred to Taman Surapati police post, both in Central Jakarta," he said.

Tailors were also set to work making new uniforms to replace those burned in the rioting.

Three thousand vehicle registration documents belonging to the public were also incinerated.

"We will give free services from today for those requiring new documents," Aritonang said.

As of midday yesterday, police had arrested 1,214 looters.

"Two hundred have been released," Aritonang said.

In a related development yesterday, the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute set up a monitoring post to help victims of the riots, director Apong Herlina said.

Those who wish to provide shelter to those who lost their homes should contact the institute on 390 4226/27 or 314-5518. (bsr/prb/ind/edt/emy/41)