Armed troops flush students out of House building<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The five-day occupation of the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) by some 3,000 anti-government students
\nended abruptly this morning after hundreds of armed troops
\nentered the compound.<\/p>\n
The operation caused a commotion, but witnesses said it ended
\npeacefully.<\/p>\n
There were no casualties, according to medical staff sent to
\nthe area. Several ambulances were on stand by.<\/p>\n
The military operation was mounted from the rear entrance to
\nthe building on Jl. Gelora at about 11:30 p.m. Twenty minutes
\nlater, troops marched in through the front gate.<\/p>\n
Roads leading to the DPR building had earlier been closed to
\ntraffic by the police. A large crowd of local people who had
\ngathered outside were moved away by security personnel.<\/p>\n
A group of journalists were also told to leave the area but
\nmanaged to slip into the grounds when students standing guard at
\nthe gate arranged for their passage.<\/p>\n
Then soldiers forced their way into the DPR compound.<\/p>\n
About 100 students guarding the back gate at first tried to
\nresist the soldiers, but fled into the building when they heard
\nthe shouted order "attack" above the surrounding commotion.<\/p>\n
As the operation got underway, an announcement was made
\nthrough a loud speaker: "Fellow students, we ask you to leave the
\nbuilding peacefully in the name of the reform movement."<\/p>\n
Just after midnight, between 100 and 200 students left the
\nbuilding peacefully and were taken under military escort toward
\nthe front gate. However, once they reached the gate, they refused
\nto go any further and sat on the ground.<\/p>\n
Lt. Col. Nachrowi, spokesman for the Jakarta Military Command,
\nsaid the students had agreed to leave peacefully.<\/p>\n
Nachrowi had told the students that the building had to be
\nrepaired because House members wanted to resume work today.<\/p>\n
All the students, estimated to be 3,000 in number, eventually
\nagreed to leave and marched towards about 50 buses waiting in the
\nparking lot.<\/p>\n
Students said they had asked to be taken to Atmajaya
\nUniversity on Jl. Sudirman.<\/p>\n
Independent witnesses confirmed that the military operation
\npassed without any serious incident.<\/p>\n
Paulus Mahulete, a lawyer from Jakarta Legal Aid Institute
\n(LBH), who was inside the building, said most students were
\nasleep when troops entered the building.<\/p>\n
They banged their truncheons on the door to wake the students,
\nthen told them to leave peacefully.<\/p>\n
The students put up no resistance and left obligingly.<\/p>\n
Andre, from Gunadarma University, said he was the last student
\nto leave the building. "Not a single shot was fired," he said.<\/p>\n
Col. Mazni Harun, an intelligence officer from the Jakarta
\nMilitary Command, told reporters: "I confirm that there was no
\nstanding order to open fire."<\/p>\n
The building saw a different kind of battle earlier in the
\nday, when 1,500 supporters of President B.J. Habibie barged into
\nthe compound to confront hundreds of students staging an anti-
\nHabibie rally.<\/p>\n
No serious incidents were reported, but some light scuffles
\nand heated arguments occurred when the supporters of the new
\nPresident hauled down banners erected earlier by the students.<\/p>\n
The atmosphere in the complex was tense the entire day.<\/p>\n
Some female students and other women, including those who
\nvoluntarily distributed free meals and medical services,
\nhurriedly left the area.<\/p>\n
"These people come so suddenly without our knowledge," a
\nTrisakti University student told The Jakarta Post while escorting
\nsome female students.<\/p>\n
Attired in Moslem dress, such as turbans, peci (Moslem hats)
\nand jilbabs and carrying prayer mats, most of the Habibie
\nsupporters -- which included housewives and girls -- arrived at
\nthe House compound after their midday Friday prayers by buses.<\/p>\n
They repeatedly chanted "Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest)!
\nLong live Moslems! Long live Indonesia! Long live Habibie," as
\nthey entered the complex.<\/p>\n
Those arriving earlier had already lowered some banners
\ncriticizing Habibie and raised theirs.<\/p>\n
Some of their banners read "Support Habibie, respect
\nConstitution" and "Moslem Society from Banten supports President
\nB.J. Habibie".<\/p>\n
Judging from the lettering on the buses, the groups came from
\ndifferent Islamic societies, including Al-Istiqomah Mosque
\ncongregation of Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta and Moslems of
\nTanah Abang in Central Jakarta, Banten and Padeglang in West
\nJava.<\/p>\n
Other participants also claimed themselves as being members of
\nthe Islamic Youth Movement (GPI), the Indonesian Communication
\nForum of Youth and Teenager Mosque Activists and the Indonesian
\nCommittee for World Moslem Solidarity (KISDI).<\/p>\n
"We're here not to create unrest. We bring no weapons or
\nstones," said K.H. Abdul Rasyid Abdullah Syafi'ie, leader of the
\nAssyafi'iyah Islamic organization.<\/p>\n
"We came here just to pray together with hundreds of ulemas
\nfor the sake of Moslems, this nation and Habibie," he said.<\/p>\n
While he was speaking, other Habibie supporters -- wearing
\nheadbands reading "Constitutional Reform" -- took down banners
\ndefaming Habibie.<\/p>\n
Some of the Habibie supporters yelled at students, who held
\ntheir ground, and asked them to pull down banners that said
\n"Soeharto and Habibie are one package, both of them must step
\ndown".<\/p>\n
"Why don't we just give Habibie the chance to accomplish his
\nduties?" yelled M. Halawi of Tanah Abang.<\/p>\n
"We Moslems support Habibie because he is intelligent and is a
\ngood Moslem," he said.<\/p>\n
Knowing that their fellow protesters could get mad, some
\nstudents repeatedly shouted: "Friends, don't get easily
\nprovoked."<\/p>\n
The students, who have been reduced in number but still
\noccupied the House, hastily set up a hand-to-hand line to
\ndelineate themselves from Habibie's supporters.<\/p>\n
"We don't know what to do. We just don't want to provoke any
\ndisputes with that group, who are here with their religious
\nstatus," said a Moslem student.<\/p>\n
However, some students were upset and loudly shouted to the
\nvisiting group "Reject Habibie!".<\/p>\n
Most members of both groups remained calm, however, and
\nincidents of violence were prevented.<\/p>\n
The pro-Habibie group later dispersed peacefully in the
\nevening after 200 security officers arrived at the scene and
\nworked with the students to prevent any fighting.<\/p>\n
The mood at the House calmed down again in the evening as the
\nHabibie supporters left the area. Laughs and cheers from the
\nstudents echoed from many parts of the buildings as fellow
\nstudents entertained them in various ways.<\/p>\n
The pro-Habibie banners were also replaced with anti-Habibie
\nbanners.<\/p>\n
But Abdul Rasyid pledged yesterday that he would lead another
\nlarge group of Habibie supporters to the House today to make
\ntheir message clear "if necessary".<\/p>\n
A similar tense situation had also taken place at the House on
\nTuesday when dozens of Soeharto supporters from the Pemuda
\nPancasila youth organization met face to face with anti-Soeharto
\nprotesters.<\/p>\n
No incidents occurred at that time either.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI),
\nconcerned about yesterday's tense stand-off, said that such
\nincidents could divide the people at a time when reform had just
\nbeen started. (team)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/armed-troops-flush-students-out-of-house-building-1447893297",
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