Riots, looting paralyze Jakarta

Riots, looting paralyze Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): The capital looked like a war zone yesterday as
thousands of people damaged and burned hundreds of buildings and
vehicles and looted the contents of the destroyed properties.

At least two civilians and three soldiers were killed in
clashes between rioters and the security forces. Many more,
including a press photographer, were injured by bullets.

Police said 200 people were arrested during the riots, which
totally paralyzed the city. Almost all normal activities,
including wedding ceremonies, were hastily halted. Employees and
students were ordered home.

Heavy black smoke covered the Jakarta sky as hundreds of
shopping centers, automobile showrooms, state and private banks,
discotheques, hotels, bookshops, offices, cars and motorcycles
were set ablaze at dozens of different locations in and around
the capital, Tangerang and Bekasi.

At least four police stations in Bintaro, Pondok Aren in
Tangerang, Cikini in Central Jakarta, and Matraman in East
Jakarta were set on fire. Two police vehicles were also burned.

Tanks and armored vehicles were seen moving around the
National Monument park near the Presidential Office in Central
Jakarta. Streets to the rear of the neighboring Presidential
Palace were closed.

Four armored vehicles stood guard in front of the state radio
station RRI on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat.

"It doesn't look like Jakarta anymore," commented a scared
employee.

Some toll roads were also invaded by the rioters.

Asep, an unemployed resident of Cimone in Tangerang, said: "It
seems to me that the mobs were possessed with the devil's
spirit."

A number of cruel rioters also attacked a maternity hospital
on Jl. Merdeka Raya in Tangerang, 30 kilometers west of here,
forcing panicking mothers to run in fear with their newborn
babies.

"What is wrong with us?" screamed a tearful nurse after
evacuating the patients.

On the streets throughout Jakarta and surrounding areas,
joyful people, including housewives and teenagers in school
uniform, were seen carrying off the spoils of looting sprees.

"I feel guilty with all this stuff which isn't mine but I have
to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because
of the economic crisis," Yanto said as he sat beside a brand new
computer and 20-inch television set which he looted from Harco
Mangga Dua electronic shopping center on Jl. Mangga Dua in North
Jakarta.

A teenager in Bintaro, South Jakarta, with his arms bleeding,
tried to sell wristwatches looted from the local Hero supermarket
to another youngster to cover his medical expenses. His arms were
injured by glass when he broke the supermarket's windows.

In several spots, the mobs invited spectators to take items
from burning or damaged buildings, but warned them not to take
the spoils home. Instead, they asked them to set burn the looted
goods in front of their eyes.

On Jl. Matraman Raya an angry mob took cash from a BCA bank
then set fire to it at the scene.

"Money is the people's property, too. So, burn it here,"
yelled a voice from the crowd.

Nearby mobs also burned cameras and films seized from a Fuji
Image Plaza.

Looking at the bizarre scene, some press photographers
screamed: "Don't burn the films! We'll buy them."

Generally, security forces were helpless in the face of
yesterday's situation. In some places they were outnumbered.

"We're totally helpless and outnumbered," a senior officer at
the riot-torn Harco Mangga Dua shopping center told The Jakarta
Post.

Nearby, hundreds of people carrying a wide range of electronic
goods filed out of a shopping complex in Glodok. Some looters
jeered at the helpless security forces.

Malioboro discotheque on nearby Jl. Gadjah Mada was set on
fire as the mob screamed "Burn! Burn!" and "Immoral! Immoral!"

On Jl. Hayam Wuruk, the mob did not touch the Bank Bali
automatic teller machine after staff at the branch threw Rp
10,000, Rp 20,000 and Rp 50,000 notes into the crowd.

Another gang of rioters broke into a nearby Dunkin Donuts
outlet, stole doughnuts and shared them with onlookers.

"Free meal, brothers," one of them said.

The riots in Glodok and Mangga Dua began at around 8 a.m.
Witnesses said the few proprietors who had opened for the day ran
away as the mobs approached.

"When I came here at eight o'clock, looting had already
started. At first I just watched, but I joined in when I saw
security forces were doing nothing to stop them," recalled Yanto.

On Jl. Gunung Sahari in Central Jakarta, 10 new Volvo cars
were badly damaged in a showroom.

"We were planning to move the cars to Lodan in North Jakarta
but the streets were already closed," Eko, a member of staff,
said.

Among banks vandalized and looted by mobs were branches of
BCA, BII, BNI, Lippobank, Bank Bira and Bank Danamon.

Hotels damaged included the Radisson Hotel, Hotel Pecenongan
and Hotel Golden. Supermarkets including Ramayana, Hero, Permata
Hijau supermarket, Bintaro Plaza and Golden Truly were also
damaged to varying degrees. The Goro wholesaler in Pasar Minggu,
South Jakarta, was also damaged by looters.

Motorists struggled to find open gasoline stations. Most had
closed for the day.

In Bekasi, riots started when frustrated commuters failed to
get buses heading for Jakarta.

With their hands full of loot, the mobs repeatedly yelled
"Long Live Economic Reforms".

The first civilian fatality of the day, Arief Ansari, 25, who
worked in car accessories kiosk on Jl. Matraman in Central
Jakarta, was shot in the waist by police.

"He was sitting right next to me when he suddenly screamed,"
recalled his friend Unang.

The second victim, Andri Priyono, 18, was shot in the chest
during a clash with police, also on Jl. Matraman. He was a
student at SMA Diponegoro in Rawamangun, East Jakarta.

"I can't believe this," his father, Omaiding, said.

Two of the dead soldiers were privates while the other was
identified as Capt. Siagian from the Cengkareng military unit.
The latter died after being pelted with stones, witnesses said.

At about 4 p.m, hundreds of people marched on Jakarta Police
Headquarters. They demanded a meeting with Jakarta Police chief
Maj. Gen. Hamami Nata.

Police opened fire and shot tear gas to disperse the rioters
after they began to throw stones.

In Tangerang, thousands of people looted shops in Lippo
supermal in Karawaci, taking electronic goods and groceries.

"Mobs began looting at around 2 p.m. By the evening things
were quieter," a local resident said, adding that there was no
security presence during the incident.

At least 10 others shops and some hotels and restaurants in
the town center were looted and set ablaze. At least 12 cars and
13 motorcycles passing through the area were stopped and burned
by the rioters.

Yesterday's disorder forced businessmen and residents to paint
signs on their properties proclaiming Moslem or indigenous
ownership.

The McDonald's restaurant in the Sarinah building on Jl.
Thamrin in the center of the city stuck placards on the window
which said: "Indigenous owned".

Many exclusive houses, shops and businesses in the city
displayed similar notices and laid Moslem prayer mats at their
gates.

Many hotels, including the 1,200-room five-star Hilton Hotel
at the Semanggi cloverleaf, were fully booked.

A receptionist at the nearby Hotel Mulya said that people had
packed into the five-star hotel "because they felt unsafe in
their homes." (team)