Riots erupt in the wake of student shootings

JAKARTA (JP): The fatal shooting of four Trisakti University students in West Jakarta on Tuesday triggered sporadic violent rioting, looting and noisy rallies in the city yesterday, paralyzing most activities in the capital.

A riot in front of the university claimed the life of at least one teenager, who was crushed by a truck. More than ten youths were injured, some by bullets.

The identity of the dead youth was unknown yesterday, but witnesses said he was among three people hit by a driver-less truck.

A number of motorcycles and vehicles were damaged and set ablaze.

Dozens of private banks, including branches of Bank Central Asia and Lippobank, shops, houses, gasoline stations, discotheques and a police post were badly damaged and burned.

The area around Trisakti campus looked like a war zone when military helicopters arrived to dispatch more troops.

City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang told The Jakarta Post last night that 72 people were being questioned and said no fatalities had occurred.

"We're not dealing with students anymore but looters," he said.

Late yesterday evening, flames and black smoke from burning vehicles and buildings could still be seen in Grogol, Cengkareng, Tubagus Angke and Angke Jelambar in West Jakarta, and on Jl. Bandengan Utara in North Jakarta.

Major streets were deserted and littered with bricks and stones.

In many parts of the city, thousands of people were stranded because of a lack of public transport resulting from the closure of streets early yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday's commotion delayed at least six domestic flights because of the absence of listed passengers who were unable to reach the airport, which lies to the west of the city, due to the road closures.

An airport official told the Post last night that Garuda Indonesia flights scheduled to take off between 6 a.m and 5:30 p.m for Denpasar, Surabaya, Medan, Yogyakarta and Singapore were delayed.

But all international airlines ran as scheduled yesterday, and most were fully booked, especially those leaving for Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, he said.

Tension initially began yesterday in front of Trisakti University on Jl. S. Parman at around 11 a.m. when thousands of people, including uniformed junior and senior high school students, gathered in front of the university and invited the students to join them.

"Come on students, join us! Let's get revenge on the police!," a voice shouted from the crowd.

Their request was rejected by the students, who remained inside the campus to stage a free-speech forum and a ceremony of condolence for those killed on Tuesday.

The mob, whose origins were unknown, pelted stones at the security forces, smashed windows set a waste disposal truck ablaze. Warning shots fired by police officers failed to stop them.

The mob quickly grew in size then set fire to gasoline station and a police post in the area.

"Police, come out and face us!" one of the crowd shouted while they rained missiles down on officers standing guard.

Another gas station on nearby Jl. Daan Mogot was badly damaged.

The angry mob also threw stones at Mal Ciputra, which was heavily guarded by security forces.

An executive from the shopping center said last night that everything "was 100 percent O.K."

At least 25 vehicles parked near the mall were burned or damaged. Rioters grabbed everything they found in the vehicles, including tires, radios and cassettes, while thousands of people stood watching near the shopping mall.

"The government should realize that the price of fuel must be reduced," screamed a rioter.

The crowd also damaged public facilities including litter bins, telephone booths, lamp posts and traffic lights despite police firing a number of warning shots.

Some passers-by who arrived on the scene with bicycles joined protesters looting damaged vehicles.

They also set four nearby discotheques ablaze, including the DJ Live and Karaoke and Top One discotheque.

Local fire brigade officer Amanuddin said two discotheques on Jl. Pangeran Tubagus Angke and Jl. Prof. Dr. Latumeten were set on fire.

High rise buildings in the area, including a Bank Central Asia office, an Isuzu car showroom and a PT Putra Surya Multidana leasing office, were damaged by stones and bricks.

A security guard at the leasing office, Sukri, said that five cars and 11 motorcycles were set on fire and two other cars badly damaged.

On nearby Jl. Kyai Tapa, students were suffering from the effects of tear gas fired to disperse the crowd outside the campus.

They ran away and hid behind trees, or fell flat on the ground as police fired level shots were fired at them.

The police did not chase protesters down, allowing them to regroup and return with more stones which they threw at security officers.

Almost all universities here staged protests against Tuesday's shootings and flew flags at half-mast.

A clash between a mob and security forces took place on Jl. Bendungan Hilir in Central Jakarta after more than 1,000 students held a free speech forum at nearby Atmajaya University.

The mob was stopped with warning shots when they tried to join the forum.

"Killer, killer," the mobs shouted. (byg/aan/das/jun/edt/emy/ivy)