Anti-elite protest mars VP visit
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Twelve students were arrested by Yogyakarta Police on Saturday following a protest against the political elite to mark the visit of Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri to the Gedung Agung on Jl. Ahmad Yani here in the afternoon.
They were arrested around 2 p.m. after marching from the Indonesian Islamic University on Jl. Cik Di Tiro to the Gedung Agung, where Megawati made a brief stopover to rest after visiting Mount Merapi, an active volcano near Magelang, some 30 kilometers from here.
Some of the protesters marched along the streets while many others rode on motorbikes and reportedly tried to breach the security cordon in front of the Gedung Agung.
"Suddenly, the police charged the protesters and it became chaotic. Many of the students fled while 12 were arrested," a local journalist said.
The protesters were demanding that all four political leaders, President Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien Rais and House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Akbar Tandjung resign from their respective posts.
As of 5 p.m., the students were still being detained by Yogyakarta Police.
"We hope the police will release them by midnight.. some of us were also injured during the incident," said Basyar, a protest coordinator for HMI-MPO, a splinter group of the Indonesian Muslim Student Association (HMI).
The eight arrested students were from the Yogyakarta State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN Yogyakarta), identified as Nanang Kosim, Yusrim Toha, Ihwan Mustofa, Taufik Simandjuntak, Lasunadin, Thomas Herlando, Ade Asad, Al Sahrowi; two others, Gaguk Suprapto and Okte, were from the Yogyakarta Institute of Agriculture and the other two, named Prayogi and Alan, were from Yogyakarta's Muhammadiyah University.
Earlier in the day, Megawati visited the Mount Merapi observation post in Babadan, located to the west of the volcano near Magelang, so as to observe at first hand the preparations for any major eruption.
Volcanic activity subsided on Saturday and most parts of the mountain were covered by thick fog.
Ratdomo Purbo, section chief of the Volcanology Research and Development Agency (BPPTK) said on Saturday that Merapi was still on an Awas Merapi red alert status
"Lava was flowing up to 2.7 kilometers from the peak of the mountain and gas clouds were being spewed up to three kilometers away from the volcano," Ratdomo said.
"We are also closely monitoring Lava Dome 2001 as it is very fragile and could collapse anytime," he added.
Although there was no evacuation, residents at the foot of the 2,968-meter Mount Merapi remained on alert Saturday as lava and gas clouds blanketed its southwestern slopes.
Minister of Energy and Natural Resource Purnomo Yusgiantoro presented a picture of Megawati's father, founding president Sukarno as a gift from the Directorate of Volcanology. The picture was taken in 1954 when Sukarno inaugurated the Babadan post.
Earlier, Megawati also visited a shelter in Salam, Magelang regency which is available in case of the evacuation of people from around the volcano and the Dukun area, the nearest subdistrict to Merapi.
Megawati was accompanied by Minister of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy Surjadi Soedirja, Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi and Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X. (44/edt)