The Banjarmasin Gray Friday Riots Also known as Banjarmasin riots is a riot a incident occurred on May 23, 1997. At that time Banjarmasin was hit by mass riots, following the Golkar campaign on the last day of the United Development Party's campaign round ahead of the 1997 Indonesian legislative elections. Judging from the scale of the riots and the number of victims and losses, the incident which was later referred to as Friday Burning or Gray Friday was one of the biggest in the history of the New Order. However, due to the government's secrecy, there were no reports with complete accuracy regarding what actually happened on the ground at that time. In comparison to its scale, press coverage was limited and disproportionate.
On that day, the last round of the 1997 election campaign took place and coincided with Friday, which coincidentally was Golkar's campaign day. According to the original plan, the half-day campaign was started with a sympathetic campaign in the form of approaching the grassroots by targeting laborers, motorcycle taxi drivers and pedicab drivers. Then, half the next day, after Friday prayers, the campaign will continue with the stage for people's entertainment in Cambodia Square. At the event there will be Cabinet Secretary Minister Saadilah Mursjid, MUI Chairman Kiai Hasan Basri, and capital city artists. The plan was never realized, because what happened then was a catastrophe in the form of mass riots.
Until noon, all activities in downtown Banjarmasin were still running normally. It was the same with the biggest mall in Banjarmasin at that time, Mitra Plaza, which later turned into the center of the riots. Visitors and buyers were busy as usual, the employees of the four-floor shopping center were also working as before. On the first floor of this shopping center located on the banks of the Martapura river, there are offices, including the Bumi Daya Bank (BBD) office. The 2nd floor is used as a place to sell clothes, while on the 3rd floor there is a Hero supermarket, Gramedia bookstore, CFC fast food restaurant and a cinema. On the 4th floor there is a discotheque, a coffee shop, and places for entertainment, including billiards and the like.
Chronology[]
Starting at around 9.00, campaign activities are lively, yellow is everywhere. Golkar distributed handkerchiefs bearing the image of a banyan tree and packed lunches, each amounting to 10,000. The targets of this campaign are workers, pedicab drivers, motorcycle taxi drivers. At around 11.00 the campaign for distributing packaged rice and handkerchiefs ended quietly.
At around 12.00 or noon, Muslims carry out the Friday prayer service. While the service was taking place, part of the Golkar campaign crowd, which generally consisted of young people and teenagers, were still campaigning. They circled around town on motorbikes. Many of the motorbikes had their exhaust removed, and the sound of the roar of the motorbike engine was felt to disturb the peace of those who were praying. The climax was when the motorbike procession passed the Noor Mosque on Jalan Pangeran Samudera. The mosque is located in the United Development Party base area. According to a source from the Banjarmasin branch of the Nusantara Legal Aid Institute (LBHN) team who conducted an investigation into the field, when the masses who were going to campaign passed by, the congregation for Friday prayers that spilled onto the road were still reading prayers. In fact, the traffic police had tried to stop the Golkar crowd. However, the Golkar Task Force insisted on going that route. Their reason is that the Friday prayers only need to be recited.[3] The congregation's anger quickly spread after Friday prayers and reached the ears of residents in various other corners of the city of Banjarmasin.
After the Friday prayers, riots broke out in front of the South Kalimantan DPD Golkar office. The news was immediately spread and the masses came without being dammed. They ended up clashing with the Golkar Task Force, which mostly came from the Pancasila Youth and FKPPI organizations. Because there were too many people, the Golkar Task Force was forced to find a way to safety. But as a result, six cars participating in the Golkar campaign were burned.
In front of the Banjarmasin Post office, from the east, thousands of people attacked carrying various kinds of weapons. They ran towards the Cambodia Square, where the Golkar campaign was to be held. Along the way, all the Golkar flags, banners, banners were taken down and burned. There, they joined the crowd of attackers who had first appeared on the sidelines. The campaign stage was raided and torn down. The invaders fought with the twenty thousand Golkar masses who were gathered there. The security officers were unable to control the violent fight. A house of worship, namely the HKBP Church which is located near the Banjarmasin Post office, started to catch fire. The fire truck that was trying to prevent the fire from spreading to the Banjarmasin Post building was forced to leave because the officers had sickle collars on them. However, the fire did not engulf the Banjarmasin Post office.
Some of the masses stormed the Barito Palace Hotel. There, they were confronted by thousands of Golkar masses who had gathered in front of the hotel, preparing for the afternoon's campaign. From the west, suddenly thousands of other masses appeared, some wearing green shirts and PPP attributes. With sharp weapons and whatever, they attacked the masses in front of the hotel. The cars that happened to be there were completely destroyed, the windows of the hotel were smashed with stones.
Since 15.00, the electricity went out, adding to the tense atmosphere, and the rioting escalated. Most of the Barito Palace Hotel guests were still in their rooms in the dark. Suddenly the hotel security guard banged on the room doors and shouted, fire! The guests scattered outside, saving themselves. Quickly, riots spread everywhere. The masses continued to destroy, while shouting PPP slogans. Several people wore PDI attributes.
The atmosphere is getting frantic. The mob damaged and burned private cars found on any highway and looted their contents. A car exploded, after being set on fire in the street. In front of Mitra Plaza, several cars were immediately scattered, some of them caught fire. A woman was riding a motorcycle wearing only her top bra because her Golkar shirt was stolen by the mob. On the streets, stones were scattered, broken glass was scattered everywhere.
On the streets, public facilities were destroyed. The mob also damaged and threw stones at shophouses that were lined up along Jalan HM Hasanuddin to Jalan Ahmad Yani, the Sudimampir area, Jalan MT Haryono and Jalan Pangeran Samudera.
Inside the Mitra Plaza complex, with the approval of management in Jakarta, TB Gramedia's leadership decided to close the store and employees were asked to leave the work site immediately. All went home, provided they did not use any PPP attributes. In front of Mitra Plaza, officers began to close the street and build a posse to protect the shopping complex. However, the thousands of masses were unstoppable, they pushed forward, breaking down the police posse, breaking window glass windows, entering the building, and looting whatever they could. AI gas The eyes that the officers sprayed were unable to hold them back.
Until then, Mitra Plaza had just been damaged, but had not caught fire. Then, a white sedan was pushed and crashed into the windshield of Toys Kids on the ground floor, before finally setting the car on fire. The fire soon spread throughout the building. After Mitra Plaza caught fire, other buildings soon followed. That night, all four floors of the Mitra Plaza building were burned down. Meanwhile, the riots did not only reach the shopping area. Residential areas of the population also began to be affected. Kampung Kertak Baru Ulu, especially RT 10 which is inhabited by 30 families, started to be engulfed in fire since 16.35 WITA. This residential area is located behind Jalan Pangeran Samudera. The fire started from the temple which soon spread to the houses behind it. The fire even spread to the ABRI POM dormitory which was only separated by a 3 meter wide river from Kertak Baru Ulu.
Meanwhile in other places, namely on Jalan Veteran and Jalan Lambung Mangkurat, at the same time, as many as six churches and one temple were also destroyed. Stones were also thrown at houses of ethnic Chinese. There were even families who wanted to save themselves. After the pick-up truck arrived, the car's glass was smashed, and the owner had to run away from there.
The house of the boss of the Barito Putera football club, who is also a legislative candidate from Golkar, was also ransacked by the mob, the house was raided by the mob and destroyed. The Pamen ABRI complex was also damaged, perhaps because many of its residents became candidates for the Golkar legislature.[3]
At around 17.00 WITA, the masses moved back towards DPD I Golkar, but did not go there directly. They stopped by again at Junjung Buih Plaza. The Junjung Buih Plaza generator set was burned and the 8-storey building eventually caught fire. A hotel in that building, Hotel Kalimantan, many artists participated in the staying overnight campaign, including the campaigner. The general chairman of the Central MUI, Kiai Hasan Basri (MUI), also stayed at the hotel who joined the campaign group. There was also the Governor of South Kalimantan and Muspida, but in the end they were rescued. However, it is not known whether there were also victims there. It is clear that during the rescue operation many of them fainted. The Governor of South Kalimantan, Gusti Hasan Aman, himself felt very shocked and as if he did not believe he saw the behavior of the masses that were so brutal.[3]
Because the masses continued to rage, the blackouts did not continue. Those who poured water then fled from the crowd's encirclement. Many gas cylinders exploded after being doused with water, then they were left to run away from the angry masses. A number of motorbikes could not be saved and were also engulfed by the red fire.[3]
Starting at around 18.00, the back of the Anjung Surung building started to emit smoke. The fire completely destroyed Kasio's pharmacy which was located behind this building. The Fire Brigade was helpless, because the masses prevented and threatened them so they would not put out the fire.
But miraculously, when all the fire engulfed the surrounding buildings, the Anjung Surung building survived. The ER officer at the Banjarmasin Islamic Hospital said that until 17.30 the hospital was treating 12 victims. Eight of them suffered stab wounds, the remaining four from traffic accidents. Meanwhile, Ulin Regional General Hospital said that at least they treated 20 patients, including Didik Triomarsidi, a photographer for the Banjarmasin Post. Didik was abused by the mob while covering the destruction of the Golkar DPD headquarters building.
At that time, people from various villages began to get restless and started to do their own security. They all left the house, guarding every alley, and the entrances. Complete with sharp weapons, in the form of sabers, samurai, and sickles. The guard was carried out all night, because they heard rumors that Golkar would carry out a counterattack.[3]
At 20.30 WITA, the crowd flocked to Mitra Supermarket, which is the largest shopping center in Banjarmasin. It is located on Jalan Sumatra. In this four-floor building there are many electronic shops, computers, discotheques, meeting rooms, luxury car showrooms, Gramedia bookstores, CFC, Cinema 21, and children's entertainment facilities. The masses managed to enter by breaking through the security blockade. The contents of the building were looted and taken away. The building itself caught fire at around 20.00 WITA, and the fire burned until 09.00 the next day.[3]
The masses continued to rampage and destroy the contents of the building. At that time news spread that the security forces were allowed to arrest and shoot on the spot, but the security forces did nothing. Finally, the mob, complete with various sharp weapons, continued to rampage. At 22.00 WITA, 1,000 aid troops arrived in three Hercules planes. According to the Banjarmasin LBHN report, it is not known where they came from. The troops then moved closer to the Mitra Plaza Building. They chased away the crowd that was still in the building. The guns fired, but the LBHN Banjarmasin did not obtain information on how many victims fell there.
In the evening, the number of mobs dwindled. The electricity was still out and the entire city remained pitch black, only lit by flames everywhere. Several places were blockaded by security officers, but mobs were still gathering in several places. They entered residential areas, attacked with celurit, kelewang, saber, samurai, and various other weapons. Several houses, offices and stalls adjacent to the Banjarmasin Post are still burning. Initial reports said that in total hundreds of homes and shops were destroyed, a Catholic church, a bank and a hotel were destroyed. About 80 people were reported injured and 50 people were arrested.
Then, around 23.00 WITA, the crowd headed out of town. The targets were the houses of Golkar legislative candidates. Because news broke, the masses brought forms containing the Golkar Final Candidate List (DCT). There were four houses that were burned down, although it is not yet clear whether those were the houses of the Golkar candidates or not. Also targeted were ethnic Chinese shops along the street, which were also destroyed by throwing stones. Nearly all the shops along Jalan Ahmad Yani were heavily damaged and the fires soared. At that time the troops were no longer silent, they started chasing the masses.[3]
Around 00.00 WITA, a resident who left the house to see the situation was seen lying down shot by a bullet. Even so, according to the Banjarmasin LBHN Team's report, the atmosphere on the streets was still busy. Many people who have already left find it difficult to return to their homes. Because the streets have been blockaded by villagers. Non-citizens are not allowed to enter and pass through the road.[3]
However, around 01.00 WITA in the morning on Saturday, May 24, the masses moved out of town. Because all the roads have been blocked by the security forces. The atmosphere was getting tense, especially in the city center, where all the electricity went out, and it only started around 09.30 in the morning.[3]
Then the security forces, around 03.00 WITA, searched Kelayan Village. This village is the most densely populated village in Banjarmasin and is known for many thugs. There are 195 people secured at the Banjarmasin Police Headquarters. Their condition was battered and almost all of them became difficult to recognize their faces. Around 04.00 WITA, the people of the Lucky Jaya Housing Complex, who had been on guard all night because there was a rumor that they would be attacked, managed to enter the house when they heard the sound of troops arriving. It is unclear how many people were detained from there. At 06.00 WITA, security forces, approximately 5 trucks, came to Teluk Tiram village. In that village, they hunted down mobs who were thought to be in the village. They were fully armed in hand keeping watch on the main roads. Any passers-by who looked suspicious were searched. In fact, those who were seen wearing rather shabby clothes were immediately stopped.
Until the next day, Saturday morning, the fire was still burning in the Plaza Mitra complex. Entire floors of the building are still inaccessible. However, the stench and stench stings outside the room. The rescue team could not do anything yet, because the building was still covered in fire and smoke. Evacuations could only be carried out in the afternoon when some of the fires had been extinguished. The South Kalimantan Police Chief gave a report to the National Police Chief regarding the possibility that there were a number of charred bodies inside the shopping complex. Officials from Jakarta who had been planning to campaign were flown back from Banjarmasin, including the Minister of Secretary of Regency Saadilah Mursyid and Kiai Hasan Basri. Pangdan Tanjungpura Maj. Gen. Namoeri Anoem announced a curfew in Banjarmasin, starting from 8 pm to 5 am, during the five days of the campaign calm period, 24-29 May 1997.
Loss[]
Due to material losses, hundreds of houses, shops, buildings and other buildings were completely destroyed. Those destroyed included the Banjarmasin Branch PLN building, the South Kalimantan Regional Office of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Banjarmasin PDAM Office, the Banjarmasin Pawnshop Office, BDN, BRI, Lippo Bank, Danamon Bank, Main Bank, BDNI, six restaurants, two cinemas, three hotels (Kalimantan Hotel, Hotel Banjarmasin, Hotel Barito Palace). Apart from Plaza Mitra, other shopping centers that were destroyed and looted were Plaza Junjung Buih, Siolatama, Barata Department Store, Arjuna Plaza, Edwin Haouse, Lima Cahaya Department Store, and the Sudimampir shopping center. For further data, see table.
| Material | Condition |
|---|---|
| Pentecostal Church on Jl. Veterans | Damaged |
| Yellow Church on Jl. Veterans | Destroyed |
| Eben Etser Church on Jl. S. Parman | Destroyed |
| GKKA Church on Jl. Veterans | Destroyed |
| HKBP Church on Jalan P. Samudera | Ludes burned |
| Tempekong on Jl. Veterans | Destroyed |
| Junjung Buih Plaza Building; Hotel Kalimantan, Shops, Bank Lippo | damaged and burned |
| Department Store Five Light | burned down |
| Sari Kaya Supermarket | burned down |
| Banjarmasin Theater | burned down |
| Siaolatama Supermarket | destroyed |
| Plaza Partners | burned down |
| Casio Pharmacy | destroyed |
| Arjun Plaza | destroyed |
| DPD I Golkar South Kalimantan Office | burned |
| Ministry of Education and Culture Office on Jl. S. Parman | tampered with |
| Ministry of Health Office | tampered with |
| Dawn Restaurant | destroyed |
| PLN Building | burnt |
| Regional Drinking Water Company | burnt |
| Pawnshop Office | burnt |
| State Dagang Bank, BRI, Danamon Bank, Main Bank | burnt |
| The House of the Barito Putera Galatama Boss | damaged |
| Chinese houses | damaged |
| Resident's house behind HKBP Church | burned down |
| Residential houses along the Bumi Mas road | damaged |
| A priest's house | searched and damaged |
| A Nursing home | burned |
| Catholic High School | broken apart |
| SD, SLTP, SMU on Jl. S Parman | burnt |
| Approximately six cars in front of the DPD I Golkar office | burned |
| Two deer cars | burned |
| One ambulance | damaged |
| One car Toyota Hard Top | damaged |
| Two motorbikes | damaged |
In addition, hundreds of people were killed and seriously injured, not counting those who were slightly injured. The number of fatalities was 142 people.[8] The number of victims varies and is not the same. The first announcement regarding the number of victims, in the report of Lt. Col. (Pol) Friedy Tjiptoadi, Head of Banjarmasin Police, to Col. (Pol) Sanimbar Kapolda South Kalimantan, mentions the figure of 60 people. A day later, that number was 133. Pangdam Maj. Gen. Namoeri Anoem stated that 187 people were detained in connection with the Burning Friday riots. Police announced that 118 people were taken to hospital, many of them seriously injured. Brig. Still in this official announcement, 118 people were injured, plus 5 ABRI members. The YLBHI Fact Finding Team recorded 123 dead, 118 injured, and 179 missing. According to Komnas HAM, reports on the missing number were 199 people, but then two people have returned, so the number of missing people is 197. If this number of missing people is considered dead (which is very likely), then the estimated death toll is between 302 and 320 people. The victims who died at Plaza Mitra were visited by Komnas HAM's fact-finding team on May 31, 1997. Two hours later, 120 of them were buried en masse according to Islamic procedures at the Anvil Ulin Tengah cemetery, Landasan Ulin District, Administrative City (now the autonomous city) of Banjarbaru, which is located 22 kilometers southeast of Banjarmasin. The other three victims have been taken by their families and buried separately. Komnas HAM reported that there was no evidence that live bullets were used which caused the deaths of the victims of the riots. In its report, Komnas HAM also stated that in quelling the riots, the security forces did not use lethal equipment, but used warning shots, smoke grenades and tear gas.