John Hamilton, Jakarta - Jakarta is a city of fear ringed by steel as Indonesia hovers on the brink of rebellion and anarchy.
Yesterday I drove through the tense central city area where office buildings were locked and stores shuttered and barred.
Rolls of barbed wire blocked entrances to the plush Plaza Indonesia shopping centre while even the McDonald's outlet at the Sarinah department store complex was not only closed, but daubed with political slogans calling for "reformasi".
At every major strategic intersection there were armored personnel carriers, tanks, mobile howitzers and groups of heavily armed soldiers.
The scene at the National Monument (Monas) seemed to symbolically sum up the situation. The 132m marble column towers over Merdeka (Freedom) Square and can be seen from all directions.
Jakarta's principle landmark and a memorial to the extravagance of former President Sukarno, the column is topped by a glittering "flame" covered with 35kg of pure gold.
Usually, thousands of people queue in long lines in Merdeka Square at the weekend for the lift to the view atop the Monas. If they had made it yesterday, they would have seen fires smouldering in looted buildings. Instead, the square was deserted.
Nine armored cars, on which heavy machineguns drawn from the KODAM Jaya (national armory) were mounted, stood in line outside the monument. A squad of 20 soldiers in combat gear guarded the entrance.
North of the square is the huge white Netana Negara, the ceremonial palace of President Suharto, with its lush gardens, shady trees and fountains.
Five armoured personnel carriers were parked outside one entrance with a convoy of five tanks arriving to guard another entrance as I drove by. In the grounds, combat troops were spaced about 5m apart, facing outwards. Others crouched behind trees.
Steel-helmeted troops dotted Jalan Gajah Merdeka, a nearby road leading to Jakarta's Chinatown. This was the scene of fierce rioting and looting on Thursday. Many are believed to have died here.
Elsewhere in affluent inner suburbs, residents have erected makeshift flagpoles on front fences to fly the Indonesian red and white flag at halfmast. This indicates their Indonesian ethnicity and sympathy for the hundreds of people who have died since rioting began in earnest last week.
Commercial flights out of Jakarta are fully booked with queues of people sleeping at the airport while trying to obtain standby tickets.
On Friday scores of Americans and Canadians gathered at the US Ambassador's residence. They boarded a convoy of buses under armed guard for the 35km trip to the airport where they joined chartered jets for evacuation to Singapore.
The Australian Embassy - yesterday guarded by five red-bereted Indonesian soldiers - also has evacuation plans, but compulsory evacuation is not yet considered necessary.
Meanwhile, the Suharto Government is trying desperately to calm the situation.
Army leaders have appeared on television with assurances the armed forces (ABRI) are united. Student leaders have been summoned to discuss their demands for political reform with the president.