Two men killed, another badly injured in quake site riots
Two men killed, another badly injured in quake site riots
SUNGAI PENUH, Jambi (JP): Amid reports of a struggling relief
operation, riots flared up on Wednesday in two of the six quake-
stricken districts in the Kerinci regency, causing two
fatalities.
Two men died and another was badly injured in a riot that
broke out in Semurup village, Air Hangat district. The first
victim was First Corporal Syamsul Arifin, who was beaten to death
by an angry mob. The other was Manrusdi, a resident shot by
Syamsul.
Samsyul's companion, Second Sergeant Hasan Basri, was also
caught in the riot. He was flown to Palembang, South Sumatra, to
be treated for his injuries.
Another incident occurred shortly afterwards in the Kotodatuk
village, also in Air Hangat. Two reporters from Kartini magazine,
Nestor Rico Tambunan and Nita Indrawati Arifin, were attacked by
a mob reportedly angered by the media's "unequal coverage" of
areas hit by Saturday's earthquake. Others said the attack
occurred because the mob mistook the reporters for criminals
snooping around the village.
"We are still investigating the cases," said Col. Inf. Muchdi
Purwo Pranjono, the Jambi military chief. "We apologize if there
were military members who violated procedures."
Muchdi said yesterday that there might have been "other
parties" involved in instigating the riots, perhaps even
"communist remains".
He explained that the first riot began when two military
members in civilian clothing were helping two female secondary
students out of their car near the Air Hangat police precinct.
The two women had hitched a ride with the men in order to
catch a glimpse of President Soeharto visiting the district.
Suddenly there were shouts of "thieves" and "kidnappers" and a
mob rushed after the men, who ran for safety in the police
precinct.
After the incident, Muchdi and his staff met with community
and religious leaders of the Kerinci regency in an effort to
pacify the situation.
Muchdi said the military is still checking to see if Syamsul's
shot was intended as a warning. So far no arrests have been made
in connection with the incident.
Muchdi noted that the residents may have been emotional
because of the slow and unequal flow of donations, which they
equated with government neglect. Quake survivors in the Ujung
Pasir village in Sungai Penuh said yesterday that they were still
waiting for supplies.
"Our personnel is lacking," Muchdi said.
The separate incidents happened after President Soeharto and
his entourage visited Air Hangat.
An additional 500 soldiers have been deployed to assist relief
operations, to guard trucks carrying donations and to set up
tents, the private television RCTI reported yesterday.
Security personnel have also been deployed to prevent further
rioting.
Hijack
Later on in the day, Col. Muchdi said he was checking into
reports that several locals in the Sungai Penuh district tried to
hijack trucks carrying food supplies.
The Antara news agency quoted a witness saying that the locals
became suspicious when the two men, who were strangers, would not
reply to their queries and fled in a Toyota Kijang van.
As of yesterday afternoon, the Kerinci regent was not
available for comment.
Muchdi appealed to the public to not take the law into their
own hands and urged them to refrain from being provoked by
rumors.
In Jakarta, the secretary to the Coordinating Minister for
People's Welfare, Suyono Yahya, told The Jakarta Post that he was
checking into the allegations of unequal aid distribution.
The Minister, Azwar Anas, chairs the National Team on Natural
Disasters while the Kerinci regent heads the local team in charge
of aid distribution.
All contributions are channeled through the Jambi Governor and
then delivered to the regency.
Additional contributions include 12.5 million yen from the
Japanese embassy (around Rp 275 million). In addition to the aid,
Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and envoy Yohei Kono conveyed
their condolences and sympathy for victims of the disaster which
has killed 80 people. (msa/anr)