Shops, malls and offices resume normal activities
JAKARTA (JP): Most major business districts and office complexes returned to work as normal in the past two days after remaining closed at the weekend after violent clashes broke out between the security forces and antigovernment protesters late last week.
Shops, banks and offices along the main thoroughfares of Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta and Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta reopened on Monday for the first time since 15 people died in the clashes which marked the end of the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly.
Tineke Indrajaya, an employee of PT Mitsui Export Indonesia in the Nusantara Building on Jl. Thamrin, said that most offices in the area reopened on Monday.
"Most of the offices, banks and shops had been closed since Friday. Many employees were sent home at midday that day," she said.
"My company reopened on Monday. I think the management were confident that nothing bad would happen today," she said.
"The only problem was that we found it difficult to find anywhere selling food. Perhaps they all thought the offices would still be closed," Tineke said.
On Tuesday most business centers were closed, but in observance of the Ascension Day of Prophet Muhammad (Isra Mi'raj) and not because of security fears.
But shopping centers throughout the city were busy again with crowds of visitors, keen to enjoy the holiday after several days of tension.
Such scenes were visible along Jl. Matraman, Jl. Salemba, Jl. Kramat Raya and Jl. Gunung Sahari in Central Jakarta and Jl. Gajah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk in West Jakarta.
Atrium Mall and Planet Senen shopping centers in Central Jakarta already reopened on Monday, only two days after they were broken into by looters during Saturday's rioting.
"We are deeply grateful to the marines who managed to calm down the angry mob and stop them from looting," said Rudi, who owns a shop in Planet Senen.
Strategic spots
Several marines were stationed at strategic locations in the area on Monday, with reinforcements not far away. Most, however, returned to barracks the following day.
Shops in the Jatinegara area of East Jakarta also reopened. They closed on Saturday after thousands of people vandalized an East Jakarta police station on Saturday in a show of anger at the shooting dead of demonstrators the day before.
Shops and shopping centers in South Jakarta, including Pasaraya, Blok M Mall and Blok M Plaza also reopened.
There was also heavy traffic on parts of Jl. Hayam Wuruk and Jl. Gajah Mada.
Streets around the National Monument (Monas) park and the State Palace on Jl. Merdeka Selatan were open, but still guarded by armored vehicles.
Streets leading to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) building were open in the morning, but closed in the afternoon. A heavy security presence was still in place in the area.
Hundreds of students gathered at Atma Jaya University on Jl. Jend. Sudirman on Monday and handed out flowers to passing motorists. Dozens of wreaths bearing messages of condolence were laid at the university's front gate.
A 300-meter-long white banner was laid along the pavement on which passersby wrote messages of condolence.
Syaiful Anom, 26, was apprehended by students for extorting money from passing motorists after handing them flowers stolen from the wreaths.
The students seized a machete from the man before handing him over to two marine officers.
At least 1,000 students from Trisakti University, the University of Indonesia, Tarumanegara University and Jayabaya University held a free speech forum at the Trisakti campus on Jl. Kyai Tapa in West Jakarta on Monday.
The students chanted slogans against former president Soeharto and Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto. They also demanded Wiranto take responsibility for the tragic incident at Semanggi and called for the Armed Forces to leave politics.
Business went on as usual in Bogor and Tangerang on Monday. Bogor was largely unaffected by last week's unrest, but the situation in Tangerang had been very tense, with residents fearing a westward expansion of Saturday's rioting in Jakarta.
At least 200 students from Kesatuan Management Academy in Bogor occupied the studios of the state-owned radio station RRI in the city for about an hour on Monday while they broadcast a statement on Friday's shootings over the airwaves.
They called for the national flag to be flown at half-mast and said the public should remain calm, continue with normal activities and ignore rumors and attempts to provoke unrest in the country.
They also demanded harsh punishments for those who killed students at Semanggi on Friday. (jun/24/hhr/bsr)