Antigovt rally staged in Yogyakarta

Antigovt rally staged in Yogyakarta

YOGYAKARTA: Some 5,000 students and people of different
organizations took to the streets here on Friday to demand
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz
step down for failing to produce policies that best serve the
public.

Carrying banners and posters condemning Megawati and
her government, they marched from two different points before
meeting in front of the Gramedia bookstore on Jl. Jend. Sudirman.
From there they continued on to the Gedung Agung presidential
palace near the kraton.

They stopped for a while in front of the Yogyakarta provincial
legislature building on Jl. Malioboro to say Friday prayers en
route to the presidential palace.

Calling the rally Perlawanan Nasional: Aksi
Siaga Satu Gulingkan Mega (National Resistance: Top Alert Move to
Oust Mega), the protesters listed 10 major sins committed by the
Megawati-Hamzah administration, including not prosecuting
corrupters, selling national assets, reducing subsidies and
acting against democracy.

"If this regime continues, Indonesia will surely experience
self-destruction," rally coordinator M. Arif Fibri said.

The protesters dispersed just before dusk, but promised to
stage more rallies until their demand is met. -- JP