Fri, 13 Oct 1995

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)