Indonesian Price Hikes Fuel Violent Outbursts

MEDAN, Indonesia â€”  Dozens of looters today pilfered pots, cooking oil and boxes of noodles from a warehouse here, the day after thousands of rioters had flipped over cars and hurled rocks at police in the worst outbreak of violence since the country’s economy buckled last year.

Police responded to the looting by firing shots into the air and swinging clubs at the crowd. Children and housewives scrambled away with stolen goods.

“I got it,� said one man who hauled a sack of rice.

The day before, police responded with even greater force, firing in the air to ward off mobs of looters who set fire to two homes and 14 cars and pelted hundreds of storefronts with stones, residents said.

Witnesses said several dozen people were injured, but there was no official count. At least 94 people were in police custody.

While the government was buoyed by another $7 billion from the International Monetary Fund--the fruits of its decision to phase out some subsidies--Tuesday’s unrest is a painful reminder that the economic distress is becoming too much for many Indonesians.

Yet, unlike student protesters who fought police on two campuses in Jakarta, the capital, on Tuesday, the rioters here were more focused on economic survival and directed little of their rage at President Suharto, a former army general whose authority remains firm after three decades in power. Most of the students believe that Suharto’s downfall is the only way to ensure a more open political system.

“Bring down the prices,� the protesters shouted, referring to government-ordered increases in the cost of gas and public transportation.

Looters pilfered shoes and clothing from shops within a several-block radius, while other rioters indiscriminately stopped cars, forced terrified motorists to get out and then set the vehicles ablaze.

Some of the rioters stormed stores owned by ethnic Chinese shopkeepers; five Chinese families asked for protection at a police station. The ethnic Chinese minority, which dominates commerce in the mostly Muslim nation of 200 million, was targeted during deadly riots sparked by price increases in February.

In the capital on Tuesday, police lobbed tear gas canisters and fired rubber bullets at rock-throwing students. At least five officers and 25 students were injured in two clashes, police and witnesses said.

A 24-year-old student was shot and wounded by police during a protest Tuesday in Ujungpandang, about 890 miles east of the capital, the Jakarta Post reported today.

While the public was bracing for a gradual reduction in state subsidies, few people were prepared for Monday’s announcement of price increases of between 20% and 70% for fuel and electricity and bus and train tickets, among other items.