51 protesters held for staging rally without notification

51 protesters held for staging rally without notification

JAKARTA (JP): Police on Wednesday arrested a group of 51
student protesters for allegedly holding a street rally without
prior notification as required by the new law on freedom of
expression.

It was the second such arrest of student protesters in the
last two days. On Tuesday, police arrested 158 (not 259 as
reported earlier) student protesters during a rally outside the
Jakarta Police Headquarters on Jl. Gatot Subroto.

The 51 protesters, from the privately run Gunadarma
University, were arrested while staging a "No to ABRI's dual
function" rally behind the office of the Ministry of Security and
Defense in Central Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon.

The students, including 29 women, were transported to the
Jakarta Police headquarters in a military truck amid tight
security provided by policewomen and other military personnel.

"They will not be detained. We will only record their names
and other identification while the police develop the case to see
if there are any violations," information officer Maj. Nyoman
Suryasta said.

The 158 students, including 150 females, who were arrested on
Tuesday were released about five hours after they were taken into
custody.

According to the new law on freedom of expression, anyone is
allowed to stage a rally in a public space, however they must
first give the police at least three days notification before
holding the rally.

Similar to Tuesday's scene, the arrests of the Gunadarma
students was met with strong objections from the protesters, and
a clash eventually ensued.

Police claimed that at least two soldiers and two police were
injured during the clash that started at 3:30 p.m. on Jl. Budi
Kemuliaan in the rear of the ministry's office.

The clash began when the Gunadarma students, ignoring the
security personnel's order to disperse, because they had not
given the police prior notification of their rally, tried to
force their way into the ministry compound.

Being pelted by stones, iron bars and golf sticks, the
security officers fired at least three canisters of tear gas into
the crowd of students.

According to the chief of the Gambir police station, Capt.
Martuani, the two injured police officers have been admitted to
the Soekanto police hospital in East Jakarta, while the two
soldiers were being treated at the Gatot Subroto Army hospital in
Central Jakarta.

"They were injured after being hit by golf sticks and iron
bars pulled from the ministry's fence by the students," Martuani
said.

Among the protesters, one female student was rushed to a
clinic for treatment as she reportedly fainted as soon as the
truck transporting her and the other arrested students entered
the police headquarters.

Besides the students from Gunadarma, the city also witnessed
other rallies on Wednesday, including a group of some 1,000
students from the Communication Forum of the Jakarta Student
Senate (FKSMJ) and 800 students from the YAI accounting academy.

No other clashes were reported during these rallies. The FKSMJ
students, attempting to stage protest at the Presidential Palace,
were quickly blocked by security officers. The YAI students
staged their rally at the Attorney General's Office in South
Jakarta.

Another small group of activists grouped from the Human Rights
Concerned People Association expressed their demands by draping
white banners in the trees along Jl. Sudirman, in Central
Jakarta. (emf/edt)