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)