Indonesian Economy Sparks Social Unrest
Thousands of Indonesians rampaged in at least eight towns Friday, burning shops, houses and cars in the most violent day of protest since the onset of an economic crisis. One person was reported killed.
Mobs vented anger against Chinese traders they blame for the soaring prices and massive unemployment that followed a plunge in the value of the currency, the rupiah. Sweeping austerity measures under a $40 billion International Monetary Fund bailout have only aggravated the economic despair.
Riots began breaking out one month ago in the eastern part of the world’s fourth most populous country and have been spreading west toward the capital as people began to feel the pain.
Searching for scapegoats, rioters attacked the Chinese minority. Three Chinese churches in two towns were raided and furniture burned outside. Looting was widespread.
“My children and I are still too afraid to leave our house. My neighbors are scared as well,” said one woman in Pamanukan, 56 miles east of Jakarta. She spoke by telephone on condition of anonymity.
Chinese families sheltered in police stations or fled to other towns. Fearful residents painted the word “Muslim” on their doors to keep rioters from attacking their homes.
Friday’s strife broke out one day after President Suharto ordered the military to crack down on activists. He accused them of harnessing economic discontent to destabilize the state before a presidential election in March. Suharto, who has governed for 32 years, is expected to win a seventh, five-year term.
Having amassed fortunes as members of a clique linked to Suharto and his family, a few Chinese are among the richest people in country. Many among the ethnic Chinese - who make up only about 4 percent of Indonesia’s population of 202 million -are farmers or hold down salaried jobs in offices and factories.
The Muslim majority has turned on the Chinese in the past in times of crisis. Many members of the community were among the hundreds of thousands of people killed in the 1960s when mobs attacked suspected left-wing activists and sympathizers following a failed coup attempt. Before and since, Chinese shops and houses are targeted when civil strife erupts.
After a daylong melee Friday, troops moved into Sukamandi, about 45 miles east of Jakarta.
“The crowd became angry in the morning because of rising food prices in the market,” said Neng Kursiasih, a witness. “They rioted until sunset.”
In the biggest of the riots, hundreds of troops and police clashed with 3,000 rioters in Losari, 125 miles east of Jakarta. One man died, the official Antara news agency reported. Details of the death were not immediately available.
By nightfall, troops patrolled streets littered by rocks, shattered glass and burned debris. Hundreds were detained. Several people were injured and 30 shops were damaged.
Violence was also reported in the towns of Ciasem, Gebang, Pamanukan, Jatiwangi, Tanjung and Bulukamba. All of the communities with riot reports are on the western side of the main island of Java.
Roads leading to the towns were closed when rioters threw rocks at passing automobiles. Some were reopened later but only after police warned drivers that their safety could not be guaranteed.
About 160 people were arrested in Pamanukan, where 23 shops were burned, police said. Security personnel in other towns reported dozens of arrests, but gave no exact figures.
“I’m worried about what will happen next,” said Arifin, a Pamanukan resident.
In another troubled area of Indonesia, meanwhile, three East Timorese rebels were killed and two soldiers wounded in a recent gun battle, Indonesia’s military commander in the disputed territory said.
The clash occurred on Feb. 5, when about 15 pro-independence rebels ambushed an Indonesian army patrol near Lacluta village, about 110 miles east of Dili, the provincial capital, Col. Slamet Sidabutar said.
Separatists guerrillas have been fighting against Indonesia since it annexed East Timor in 1976 after it invaded the territory a year earlier.