Unrest spread to Surabaya, Yogyakarta and other towns
SURABAYA (JP): Economic activities ground to a halt and tension and fear reigned yesterday when a demonstration of thousands of people degenerated into an orgy of large-scale rioting, burning and looting in this capital of East Java.
Mobs stoned shops and vehicles in different parts of the city, sometimes resorting to setting them ablaze. The unrest began after Friday prayers when thousands of students formed a motorcade in a procession down the city's streets, joined later by other members of the community.
Hundreds of shops closed when the demonstrators started to mill about the streets. They started by throwing stones at passing motorists. The people then moved on to stopping vehicles, ordering their occupants out and stripping them of their possessions.
The masses burned some of the vehicles and properties on Jl. Panglima Soedirman, Jl. Urip Sumohardjo, Jl. Kapas Krampung and Jl. Danakarya.
The provincial legislative office building was also pelted with stones by what some witnesses described as thugs. The rioters continued on their journey of destruction around the city until late in the evening.
All gas stations closed and public transportation stopped operating. Security personnel closed several streets and the chief of the Brawijaya Regional Military Command, Maj. Gen. Djaja Suparman, told The Jakarta Post in the evening that the city was under control.
He also said that the convoy of protesters had been steered out of the city. He called on the public to help the military keep watch on their neighborhoods.
In Yogyakarta, tensions ran high when thousands of people left their residences and gathered on Jl. Solo, Jl. Senopati, Jl. Ahmad Dahlan, Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Diponegoro and other smaller streets. Vendors raced to close their shops, a move which was also followed by banks and offices, for fear of a repeat of the vandalism which had occurred in neighboring Surakarta.
Property owners attempted to avert the possibility of vandalism by plastering their houses or shops with posters bearing messages such as "We support reform" or "Reform, OK!".
The mass on Jl. Solo dispersed peacefully after the sultan of Yogyakarta addressed them and appeased their concerns. He also met with academics at his palace in a dialog.
Some residents also plastered their houses with signs saying "Owned by natives" in the hope the mobs, which have tended to hit properties of Chinese-Indonesians, would bypass their homes.
There were exchanges of stone throwing, but tension gradually died down without major violence.
In Surakarta and neighboring Boyolali, Central Java, vandalism also occurred, but on a smaller scale than Thursday. Dozens of shops were either damaged or burned, but there were no casualties.
Similar rioting occurred in Bandar Lampung yesterday. Rioting also hit Palembang on Thursday, but the tension remained until yesterday especially because the charred wreckage of vehicles littered the streets. Shops and offices were still closed, as they were on Batam Island.
Tension persisted in Pekanbaru, Riau, Bengkulu and Semarang, the capital of Central Java.
Students
While condemning the rioting and looting by mobs over past two days, students in many cities continued yesterday with their demonstrations for reform.
Students in several cities made a point of staying within the confines of their campuses during their demonstration -- in order not to be dragged into rioting by locals -- or clearly distinguished themselves from other groups as they marched down the streets to a determined destination, mostly the local legislative councils.
"Please, differentiate student demonstrations for reform with that rioting where people ransacked and looted properties," said one student interviewed by a private television station.
"If this is what people meant by the reform of their choice, then may be we shouldn't have reform at all," he continued.
Among the students who demonstrated yesterday were those in Bandar Lampung and other cities in Lampung province, the East Java cities of Malang and Surabaya, Bandung, West Java, and Yogyakarta.
In Surabaya, dozens of students forced their way into the state-run radio station RRI as thousands of others kept guard outside. The students insisted on issuing a statement, broadcast live, calling on the community to stop violence, burning and looting.
The students also called on the people to concentrate their movement on the demand for reform. Station chief Mukhidi said he allowed the students use of the facilities because "their message was in line with our own mission".
Also in Surabaya, about 4,000 housewives, female students, factory workers, activists, nuns and prostitutes gathered at the Airlangga University and held a free-speech forum where they voiced support for the student movement for reform.
In Malang, at least 40 professors of Brawijaya University joined about 10,000 students in a free-speech forum, before marching to the Suropati heroes cemetery. The protesters demanded sweeping reform and the convening of a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly to elect a new leadership.
In Yogyakarta, Indonesia Islamic University rector Zaini Dahlan said the college administrators decided to protect and be fully responsible for all student demonstrations held within the campus.
The faculty also donated Rp 20.8 million of their two months' basic salaries to pay for medical expenses for students who fell ill or were injured during demonstrations, Antara reported.
"Just ... be alert of possible efforts to provoke you into violence. We (faculty and administration) only support peaceful, nonviolent demonstrations," he told thousands of students.
In Bandung, thousands of students from various universities gathered at the Gedung Sate city hall after Friday prayers to deliver fiery speeches and demand the resignation of President Soeharto.
The demonstration proceeded peacefully and was highlighted by the presence of a delegation from the School of Aeronautics whose members wore uniform and marched smartly into the gathering. They carried a big poster demanding reform and a new president. The students dispersed peacefully several hours later.
From Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh, it was reported that hundreds of Abulyatama University students marched for 8.5 kilometers from their campus to the local legislative council where they laid condolence wreaths over the deaths of four students in Jakarta Tuesday.
The silent procession went peacefully, under the watchful eyes of a team of riot police, and the students dispersed soon afterward.
In Jambi, dozens of street vendors visited the local legislative council to convey their support for student movement for reform, while in Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara, various universities held separate demonstrations joined by lecturers and professors.
In Cilacap, Central Java, the attempt of hundreds of Moslem students to hold a demonstration at the Islamic Center was foiled by security personnel. The security also detained two student leaders for questioning.
Separately, former finance minister Mar'ie Muhammad urged the students to maintain their idealism and their stamina, while helping the authorities keep peace and order.
He also expressed his support and sympathy for students who have been holding demonstrations in demand for reform since February.
"I am confident the students were not involved in destructive actions that had been committed by groups of people in various parts in Indonesia," Mar'ie was quoted by Antara as saying. (43/23/swa/44/swe/26/nur/har)