Soccer hooligans leave trail of destruction
Musthofid and Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As two soccer teams fought it out on Thursday evening on the pitch of the Bung Karno Sports Stadium in Central Jakarta, fires were started at two different points in the stands, prompting two police armored vehicles to enter the stadium to restore order.
The fires, which soon died down, were apparently started by fanatic supporters of Persebaya Surabaya, which lost 1-2 to host Persija Jakarta.
The situation was soon brought under control as Persebaya fans quickly left the ground after the match ended.
The situation, however, worsened during the second match of the evening, this time pitting PSM Makassar against PSMS Medan, which followed on after the first game.
As the hard-fought match was coming to an end, some groups of spectators started to burn and break up seats in the stands.
An advertising hoarding in the upper level of section 13 was set ablaze while projectiles were thrown down on security personnel.
But the situation was brought under control again after the arrival of two fire trucks.
"As long as they do not interfere with the game, we will consider it as still being under control," said Sartomo, chairman of the organizing committee.
He noted that the committee would impose tighter security measures on Sunday when President Megawati Soekarnoputri was scheduled to attend the final.
The presence of penniless hooligans, locally known as bonek, did not only disturb the serious soccer fans who went to the stadium to enjoy the game, but also Jakartans who worked or exercised in or around the stadium.
Many people were too scared to go to the area for their usual morning jog on Thursday as hundreds of soccer fans spent the night camping out at the Bung Karno Sport Complex.
However, not all the supporters who spent the night at the sports complex could be described as hooligans.
Sophian, a soccer fan from Makassar, claimed that he spent the night at the stadium in order to get in quickly to see his beloved PSM Makassar playing on Thursday afternoon.
"I don't have enough cash at the moment so I've brought along some merchandise to sell here. Many supporters from Makassar want to buy this stuff," said Sophian, displaying his red scarfs and T-shirts.
Another supporter, Sambudi from Gubeng, Surabaya, East Java, said that even though he did not have much money, he still would not break the law.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said on Thursday that the police had conducted a raid at the sports complex for undesirable elements but that no arrests had been made.
At least 1,800 security officers have been deployed to provide security at the semifinals of the Bank Mandiri League, which kicked off on Thursday.