Soldiers on alert in Karawang

Soldiers on alert in Karawang

JAKARTA (JP): Soldiers were still on guard on Saturday around
the devastated business district in Karawang, West Java, which
was hit by a major riot the day before, to prevent any possible
fresh outbreak of unrest.

Hundreds of residents and youngsters were seen flocking to the
mouths of alleys around the Johar area on Jl. Suroto Kunto.

Local police said the situation in the city had been brought
under control since Friday night and no curfew had been imposed.

Two people died in Friday's unrest.

The two victims were identified as Jumadi, 18, a student of
Tri Jaya Sakti technical high school, and Udin bin Sali, 35, a
resident of Pewarengan subdistrict in Cikampek district,
Karawang.

The two, who died of gunshot wounds, were taken to Karawang
General Hospital before being sent to Cipto Mangunkusumo General
Hospital in Central Jakarta for post mortem examinations on
Friday and Saturday morning respectively.

Asep, a security guard at Karawang General Hospital, quoted
Udin's family as saying that he was visiting his relatives in the
Johar area when the riot started.

He said that Udin, who was in a critical condition when he was
rushed to the intensive care unit of the hospital, was shot in
the chest when the angry mob stoned stores and security officers
tried to disperse them.

"His family said that Udin could not catch any public
transport to return home. Probably, he later joined the angry mob
and ended up being shot," Asep told The Jakarta Post.

At least 55 people were questioned at Karawang police station
over their involvement in the riot. Thirty-one people are facing
charges and will appear in court.

Another suspect, believed to be a member of the Armed Forces,
was sent to West Java police station in Bandung for further
interrogation.

The unrest begun in the busy Johar area, which houses a
market, cinema, hotel, banks, restaurants and a row of stores, on
Thursday night.

Earlier that night, an ojek driver was said to have been
assaulted by a local police officer. The rumor incited anger
among other drivers, who along with locals and people from other
districts, immediately attacked police posts.

On Friday, thousands of people gathered again and began to
pelt stones at stores and public buildings in the business
district of Jl. Suroto Kunto and Jl. Tuparev and surrounding
areas.

Six police posts, Karawang police station and Kota police
station were also vandalized by the mob.

Local police, however, denied the allegation of police
brutality, saying that the unrest was orchestrated.

The mob also looted department stores and shops, in the
absence of security guards, and burned cars, furniture and
rubbish on the street.

Local residents said that some of the mob, which consisted
mostly of high school students and youths, came from other
districts such as Cikampek, Klari, Rengasdengklok and Telaga
Sari.

Karawang, situated 72 kilometers east of Jakarta, has 14
districts and 300 villages. (ivy)