Anti-govt protests continue into second week
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Violence erupted again on Monday as thousands of people embarked on a second week of protests nationwide against the steep rises in fuel prices, and electricity and telephone charges.
However, most of the street rallies proceeded peacefully across the country.
At least three students were injured in a clash between around 50 demonstrating students and police in the nation's second biggest city of Surabaya, East Java.
The scuffle broke out when the police blocked the protesters from trying to occupy the North Surabaya office of state-owned electricity company PT PLN on Jl. Gemblongan.
The three students sustained head, stomach and leg injuries after being beaten and kicked by baton-wielding officers, who had earlier fired warning shots in the air to break up the noisy protest.
The victims were rushed to the Dr. Soetomo general hospital for treatment.
Surabaya Police chief Sr. Comr. Itho Sumardi accused the protesters, led by the Democratic People's Party (PRD), of trying to stir anarchy by attempting to occupy the PLN building.
"We will not tolerate any rally in which the protesters attempt to damage public facilities," he said.
Meanwhile, the East Java Confederation of All-Indonesian Trade Unions (K-SPSI) vowed on Monday to deploy some 25,000 members for a huge rally on Tuesday to increase the pressure on the government to reverse the price hikes.
In the Central Java capital of Semarang, two of six students from the Semarang State University (Unnes), who had been staging a hunger strike in protest against the increases, were brought to Elizabeth Hospital due to their worsening condition.
Nevertheless, the two students continued to refuse to eat, saying they would not end the hunger strike until the government annulled the price hikes.
In Jakarta, hundreds of demonstrators staged separate rallies outside the presidential offices, at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, the House of Representatives, and the office of state- owned telecommunications firm PT Indosat.
Similar demonstrations hit Makassar in South Sulawesi, and Medan in North Sumatra, where thousands of students, workers and other groups urged the central government to heed their demands.
Around 3,000 protesters in Makassar vowed that they would not allow President Megawati Soekarnoputri to visit South Sulawesi in the future, calling for a vote of no-confidence against her.
During the noisy rally, the demonstrators again hijacked fuel trucks belonging to state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina. However, they let them go later.
In Bandung, West Java, some 1,000 students and workers picketed the provincial legislative council and the West Java governor's office. No violence was reported, however.
In Manado, some 30 students from the Indonesian Muslim Student Movement (PMII) and other groups staged a peaceful anti-price hike rally.
Despite the mounting public opposition, the government has refused to bow to the protesters' demands to cancel the rises.
On Sunday, Megawati defended the policy, saying it would help the economy in the long run.
She said the subsidies only benefited the middle and upper- income brackets, but not the poor.