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To: Abner Hosmer who wrote (7552)	2/13/1998 10:14:00 AM
From: Bucky Katt	Respond to of 117011

Riots over rising prices erupt in four Indonesian towns 8.58 a.m. ET (1459 GMT) February 13, 1998 JAKARTA, Indonesia Thousands of rioters went on a rampage in four towns today, burning shops, houses and cars in protest of Indonesia's soaring food prices. It was the worst day of violence yet in growing unrest over the nation's economic crisis, which has brought high inflation and mass unemployment. "My children and I are still too afraid to leave our house. My neighbors are scared as well,'' one woman said after a day of rioting in the town of Pamanukan. Contacted by telephone, she spoke on condition of anonymity. Angry crowds looted and threw rocks. As in other protests in recent weeks, the rioters targeted the property of Chinese traders, who are blamed for price hikes. A Chinese church in one town was raided and its furniture burned. There were no immediate reports of arrests or serious injuries. More than 3,000 people ran wild in the biggest riot in Losari, about 125 miles east of Jakarta. There was also trouble in the towns of Gebang, Pamanukan, and Jatiwangi, all also on the western side of Indonesia's main island of Java. A Losari resident, who identified himself only as Hendrik, said Chinese merchants abandoned their stores when the mob attacked. "I saw rioters burn at least three stolen drums of kerosene on the street,'' he said. "At least seven shops near my house were damaged. Three had smoke rising from them.'' Police said 30 Chinese-owned shops were damaged in the city, including one that was burned. The crowds piled looted goods in main streets and set fire to them before hundreds of police and troops broke up the melee. Some residents reported hearing gunshots. Dozens of shops in Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, were closed amid fears that the violence would spread, police said. However, the city was quiet tonight. The violence erupted a day after President Suharto ordered the military to take tough action against any violent protests ahead of a presidential election in March. Suharto is expected to win a seventh, five-year term when a 1,000-member assembly votes on the presidency. Police announced today that all meetings, seminars and rallies would be banned in the capital as a security measure during the assembly's meeting. Suharto accused unidentified groups of trying to exploit the widespread economic discontent as a means of attacking national stability. During the past month, more than a dozen towns have been wracked by riots as economic problems hit the poor. Chinese dominate commerce and storekeepers are often targeted when prices increase and civil unrest breaks out. Ethnic Chinese people, who are mainly Christian or Buddhist, make up only about 4 percent of Indonesia's population of 202 million, which is about 90 percent Muslim. Hundreds rioted in Gebang, four miles from Losari. Witnesses there said trouble started on Thursday night and intensified today when rioters broke into several Chinese-owned stores and houses. On Thursday, "they just threw rocks at shops, but now they burned goods including furniture from Chinese-owned houses,'' said a police officer. In Pamanukan, about 55 miles east of Jakarta, protesters entered a Chinese church and burned furniture outside. Three stores, one house along with cars and motorcycles were also set alight. Police in Jatiwangi, where 13 Chinese-owned shops were burned on Thursday, said unrest flared again overnight and lasted until the morning. A small factory was damaged when a mob threw rocks. Jatiwangi is 100 miles east of Jakarta.