Violence taints protests near Soeharto residence<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Violence marred protests against the
\ncontroversial fuel price hike and former president Soeharto on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
One protest, held a few meters from the residence of Soeharto,
\ndegenerated into a clash when some 500 protesters tried to break
\nthrough a cordon of police officers on Jl. Suwiryo in order to
\nreach Soeharto's residence on Jl. Cendana in Menteng, Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Two protesters suffered serious injuries in the clash. Police
\nidentified the two as Edward, 24, a former student at Indonesian
\nChristian University who resides on Jl. Melati in East Bekasi,
\nand Aep Saifudin, 17, a high school graduate who is now a street
\nsinger.<\/p>\n
\"Both suffered serious head injuries and slight facial
\ninjuries,\" a source at the city police medical center said.<\/p>\n
After releasing Pos Kota daily photographer Timyadi, who was
\nmistaken for a protester, police officers ordered reporters out
\nof the area.<\/p>\n
Separately, Central Jakarta Police chief of operational
\ncontrol Maj. Ricky F. Wakanno said six police officers, five of
\nthem members of the elite Mobile Brigade, were wounded during the
\nclash on Jl. Suwiryo.<\/p>\n
He accused students from the City Forum (Forkot) of provoking
\nthe clash.<\/p>\n
\"They, especially those in the left-wing (Forkot), started to
\nprovoke my officers by throwing stones and other objects at about
\n5:15 p.m. They also came prepared with sticks spiked with nails,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"We brought two protesters to Jakarta Police Headquarters for
\nquestioning,\" he added.<\/p>\n
At about 3 p.m., some 150 students, mainly from the private
\nYAI University, gathered at Teuku Umar fountain near Jl. Suwiryo,
\nwhich leads to Jl. Cendana.<\/p>\n
At one point, Ricky told his officers to put away their rattan
\nsticks and told students the police would escort two of the
\nprotesters to Soeharto's residence to meet with the former
\npresident as guests. This offer was rejected by the students.<\/p>\n
At about 4:30 p.m., some 400 members of Forkot arrived at the
\nscene in 15 buses.<\/p>\n
With some of the students carrying Molotov cocktails, the
\nprotesters marched toward the police officers and attempted to
\nbreak through the cordon.<\/p>\n
Police fired tear gas and the protesters immediately
\ndispersed, scattering in different directions.<\/p>\n
In a separate protest, hundreds of students and workers
\ngathered in the House of Representatives compound on Jl. Gatot
\nSubroto in Central Jakarta at around 11 a.m. to demand the fuel
\nsubsidy be maintained.<\/p>\n
The government decided to delay the fuel price hike planned
\nfor April 1 for an unlimited period of time.<\/p>\n
\"The government must cancel its plan to revoke the subsidy,\"
\nan activist, Dita Indah Sari, told the protesters. She also
\nblamed the International Monetary Fund for forcing the Indonesian
\ngovernment to cancel the subsidy.<\/p>\n
The protesters also demanded a 100-percent hike in minimum
\nregional wages for low-ranking employees, soldiers and police
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
Outside of Jakarta, protests were held in cities across the
\ncountry on Saturday, mostly demanding the planned fuel and
\nelectricity hikes be canceled, not merely postponed.<\/p>\n
In Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, thousands of
\nstudents from several universities, including the Indonesian
\nMuslim University and Hasanuddin University, and members of the
\nDemocratic People's Party (PRD) hit the streets, burning tires
\nand waving posters carrying slogans such as \"Total removal of
\nfuel and electricity hikes\" and \"Delay of hike not enough\".<\/p>\n
In Lampung, some 200 protesters gathered at the Lampung branch
\nof Radio Republik Indonesia on Jl. Gatot Subroto in Pahoman,
\nBandar Lampung. The protesters demanded the station allow them to
\ngo on the air with their objections to the electricity rate and
\nfuel price hikes.<\/p>\n
Similar protests were staged in the North Sumatra capital of
\nMedan, where hundreds of locals and students from Nomensen
\nUniversity, North Sumatra Muhammadiyah University and the
\nStudent-People Action Front expressed their objections to the
\nplanned hike.<\/p>\n
In Surabaya, about 200 students from the National Student
\nInstitute for Democracy set up tents in Governor Soerjo Park,
\nwhere they demanded plans for the fuel and electricity hikes be
\ncanceled.<\/p>\n
Protests also were held in Bandung, West Java, by students
\nfrom the Bandung Student Front and National Democrat League,
\nalong with the All-Indonesian Workers Association and Anti-
\nFascist Front. According to rumors here, students will stage a
\nmass protest on Monday and Tuesday to protest the planned hikes.<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, students from the Indonesian Muslim Student
\nAssociation gave speeches in front of Gadjah Mada University,
\nurging President Abdurrahman Wahid not to bow to foreign
\ninterests in raising electricity rates and fuel prices.
\n(ylt\/06\/nvn\/25\/27\/39\/44\/nur\/edt)<\/p>",
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