Students protest about party rules<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of students of the Indonesian Moslem
\nStudents Action Union staged an orderly rally in front of the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly\/House of Representatives (MPR\/DPR)
\nbuilding in Central Jakarta on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Their demands included, among other things, the rejection of
\nPancasila (the state's ideology) as the sole principle for
\npolitical parties, the revocation of the Armed Forces' (ABRI)
\ndual function and the acceleration of the general election.<\/p>\n
\"The general election needs accelerating so as to choose a
\nlegitimate national leader,\" Fitra, the union's coordinator,
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
As soon as the students finished disclosing their demands,
\nthey dispersed peacefully at 11:45 a.m.<\/p>\n
Thursday's demonstration followed a massive anti-Habibie
\nprotest by thousands of students at the same place on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in anticipation to next month's MPR Special
\nSession, the city administration would hold a massive public
\nparade to be attended by over 100,000 Jakartans at the Senayan
\nEast Parking Lot in Central Jakarta on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Head of the city's social and political affairs directorate
\nBagus Suharyono said on Thursday the parade would be held to show
\nthe public's readiness to help maintain security in the capital
\nas the existing security officers alone were not enough.<\/p>\n
\"It has been predicted that various political groups will
\nemerge during the event, while the number of security personnel
\nis very limited compared to the size of the city,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that it was impossible for the 78,000 security
\nofficers to maintain security in the city which has a width of
\n650-kilometers and about 10 million residents.<\/p>\n
Bagus said that the people were ready to face any possible
\nmassive demonstrations during the Nov. 10 to Nov. 13 session.<\/p>\n
He said that the city's five mayoralties, which would also
\nhold similar parades in their respective areas on Friday, had
\nbeen asked to send their representatives to the planned massive
\nparade on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"Actually, we should be on alert every day as there's almost
\nnot one single day without a demonstration in the city,\" he told
\na communications forum of public figures, including religious
\nleaders, business people and youths, at the City Hall.<\/p>\n
Bagus said that his directorate's data showed that there had
\nbeen 133 opposition groups, which had held 667 kinds of public
\ngatherings, including street demonstrations, mass prayers and
\nleaflet distributions, since the resignation of president
\nSoeharto on May 21. (ind\/hhr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/students-protest-about-party-rules-1447893297",
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