Indonesians Take Out Wrath On Chinese Shop Owners
Rioters hurled stones at shuttered storefronts and shouted: “Chinese, you dogs. Come out - we’ll kill you.”
Rioters looted a street in this town, shattered windows and lighted alcohol-soaked tires, then propped them up outside a Chinese-owned shop.
Two hours later, police swinging truncheons broke up the mob and the violence subsided.
Yet, many anxious Chinese, the scapegoats of scattered protests against price increases such as last week’s riot in Pasuruan, 400 miles east of Jakarta, question whether authorities can shield them from growing unrest.
“They’ll protect us, but not 100 percent,” said Chandra Winata, 39, a Chinese businessman in Jember, one in a string of towns on eastern Java island hit by violent protests.
So far, no one has been killed and most of Indonesia remains peaceful. But as the economic crisis fueling increases in the price of staples such as rice and cooking oil grinds on, the government is stepping up security.
Police patrolled the streets of Bima, 875 miles east of Jakarta on Sumbawa island, on Sunday, a day after rioters burned two Chinese-owned shops. Police also were out in force in the Java town of Bojonegoro, 350 miles east of Jakarta, following rumors of a planned protest. But the protest did not materialize.
Bojonegoro officials have arranged special markets so villagers can buy staple foods at a cheaper price, police Lt. Budi Winarto told The Associated Press. Officers also were searching for vendors who were hoarding food, which is illegal, he said.
Thousands of security personnel ran anti-riot drills in the Indonesian capital last week in a show of force. Jakarta’s military commander even has tried to reassure jittery expatriates, whose money is a valuable source of foreign exchange.
“I assure all foreigners living in Jakarta not to worry about their safety,” the official Antara news agency quoted Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Syamsuddin as saying on Saturday.
In small Java towns, the affluent ethnic Chinese minority is relatively isolated and vulnerable to the resentment of the poor.
Many police garrisons lack the mobility and numbers to respond forcefully to a riot. Some officers even may sympathize with the rioters and prefer to allow them to let off some steam before intervening.
“In many cases, the local cops are far more hesitant to take violent action,” said John Sidel, a lecturer in Southeast Asian politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
“Lower the prices” and “Wreck the Chinese” read slogans spray-painted on a few boarded-up Chinese shops in East Java.
About 90 percent of Indonesians are Muslim, while many ethnic Chinese are Christian or Buddhist. Chinese, who make up 4 percent of Indonesia’s 202 million people, run 70 percent of the economy.