Students, youths burn Army vehicles

JAKARTA (JP): Following their clash with police on Thursday, student protesters, helped by youths and residents, vandalized and set fire to at least five military vehicles on Jl. Salemba, Central Jakarta, on Friday.

With hundreds of onlookers crowding the street, the mob stopped passing vehicles, including public buses, to examine the ID cards of the occupants for members of the military and police.

In one instance the crowd stopped a sedan bearing military plates, shattered its windows and forced the uniformed soldier to get out. While members of the crowd vandalized the vehicle, others manhandled the soldier.

Among the youths were high school students in their uniforms.

No police officers were spotted in the area as the violence, which started at about 9:15 a.m., enveloped the area and lasted until late in the evening.

High-ranking police officers later said the police absence from the area was a deliberate strategy to avoid provoking greater mass unrest.

There were no reports of injuries or arrests.

Many businesses closed early due to fears of rioting and looting.

Students said they were upset by the clash on Thursday. They said the police brutally beat them and attacked the UKI and YAI campuses in the Salemba area, leaving 13 students injured and broken doors and windows on the campuses.

"We're only targeting vehicles belonging to the Army and police," student Didit said.

The clash on Thursday developed after students attacked the police with Molotov cocktails and stones when some 200 officers blocked their way to the house of former president Soeharto on Jl. Cendana, about 1.5 kilometers from Jl. Salemba Raya.

The about 800 student protesters grouped in Jarkot (City Network) attempted to break the police cordon in an effort to reach Soeharto's house.

The students also burned the newly built Megaria traffic police post and beat a uniformed military police officer.

Friday's unrest unfolded as students and members of the public milled in the Salemba area, home to businesses and several campuses, to stop passing vehicles.

About 15 minutes later, a military L-300 Mitsubishi Colt minibus was overturned and burned on Jl. Diponegoro.

"They halted the minibus, vandalized it and then burned the vehicle," said Ricky Noverdo, a student from YAI university.

He said the driver, wearing an Army uniform, was saved by several students from the wrath of the crowd.

Several minutes later, the people set ablaze two other military vehicles -- a Daihatsu Feroza Jeep and Toyota Kijang minibus -- on the same street as thick black smoke billowed in the morning air.

At about 10:30 a.m and shortly after 12 p.m. respectively, the crowd halted a military Suzuki Baleno sedan and a small military bus, told the occupants to get out and set fire to the vehicles.

Apparently concerned that a high-ranking officer might be in the sedan, two soldiers carrying rifles emerged from the nearby TNI Family Welfare Union (IKKA) building and rushed to the sedan which was being overrun by the mob.

A warning shot fired by one of the soldiers was met by a hail of stones from the crowd, who pursued the soldiers back to the building.

A security guard at the nearby Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) office, Giyos, said the students focused their search on finding Army personnel.

"A military car driven by a Marine officer also passed along the street but the crowd let the car and the officer go through," he said.

About one kilometer to the north, two trucks loaded with police arrived at the Central Jakarta Police station. However, no activities were conducted.

Several military police officers were deployed in front of the station to prevent motorists and Army personnel from passing through the Salemba area.

Central Jakarta Police Operation Control Commander Maj. Ricky Wakanno said the police decided not to deploy their personnel at the sites of unrest in a bid to avoid further clashes.

"It's our strategy to avoid more unrest. We understand that there were many local residents and street people who joined the angry students," he said.

Separately, Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Rear Marshal Graito Usodo said TNI regretted the passive stance of the police in dealing with the violence.

He said it was the authority of the police to ensure safety in society through halting all incidents of destruction and anarchy.

"If the police fail to stop the anarchy, it will worsen the situation in the country," he said.

"The anarchy will ruin the country's image before foreign investors."

Graito condemned the burning of the military vehicles but insisted the military would not take over the police's role in enforcing security.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso also deplored the violence, saying it might hinder the nation's economic recovery after two years and a half years of crisis.

Sutiyoso, a former city military commander, recommended the police request the help of the military if they could no longer deal with mob violence.

"The number of police is limited. So they can formally request help from the Jakarta Military Command," said the retired three- star general.

At about 2 p.m., the crowd swelled and began to march to Soeharto's residence.

During the march, the students led the crowd in chanting "Hang Soeharto" and condemning the military and police for protecting the former president from trial.

As in previous days, the crowd was blocked by a cordon of dozens of police personnel.

Until 5 p.m., the crowd remained at the edge of Jl. Cendana. The people later moved back to the Salemba area and stayed there until late in the evening. (06/nvn/dja/asa)