INDONESIA: JAKARTA: RIOTING DEATH TOLL REACHES 500 скачать в хорошем качестве

INDONESIA: JAKARTA: RIOTING DEATH TOLL REACHES 500

(17 May 1998) English/Nat As the authorities in Indonesia begin to clean up the wreckage of this week's rioting - they are finding more evidence of the death and destruction. Bodies are still being pulled from buildings in Jakarta, bringing the week's death toll to more than 500. The city has been wrecked as former supporters of President Suharto joined students and other dissidents in calling for his resignation. But as the weekend drew to a close shops, restaurants and bank teller machines were slowly starting to reopen. The Indonesian capital was calm on Sunday - amidst the wreckage of a week of violence. What began as a protest against government price rises ripped through Jakarta sparking rioting, looting and killings, as protestors called for the resignation of President Suharto. Shopkeepers are now searching through the debris for anything worth salvaging. And bodies are still being pulled from the wreckage in the city - the death toll for the week has topped five hundred. Most of those were looters trapped in a series of horrifying shopping mall fires. And some people face the harrowing task of trying to find loved ones at a makeshift morgue where a large number of charred bodies await identification. The security forces have announced that more than one-thousand rioters and looters have been arrested. But despite the degree of normalcy that appears to have returned to Jakarta, many remain fearful. The Indonesian people have flocked to Jakarta's cathedral and biggest mosque to pray for peace to return. SOUNDBITE: (English) Q. What will you pray for today? "Of course for the safety of the nation....we are very worried." SUPER CAPTION: Vox pop As the weekend draws to a close, some banks and stores are starting to reopen. Cash machines drew long queues as they began to dispense money for the first time since the violence erupted earlier this week. The fast food chain McDonalds also opened for the first time, but the military were taking extreme measures to prevent the whole restaurant being flame-grilled. The causes of the riots lie in Indonesia's economic crisis which has stripped thousands of workers of their jobs. But last Tuesday's shooting of six students by police brought the tension to breaking point. In an attempt to appease an increasingly angry public, President Suharto has announced that he will reshuffle his cabinet. But it may be case of too little too late. More and more former Suharto supporters are joining the call for an end to his rule. And student protesters are promising more demonstrations in the capital and other cities nationwide. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...