Armed troops flush students out of House building

Armed troops flush students out of House building

JAKARTA (JP): The five-day occupation of the House of
Representatives (DPR) by some 3,000 anti-government students
ended abruptly this morning after hundreds of armed troops
entered the compound.

The operation caused a commotion, but witnesses said it ended
peacefully.

There were no casualties, according to medical staff sent to
the area. Several ambulances were on stand by.

The military operation was mounted from the rear entrance to
the building on Jl. Gelora at about 11:30 p.m. Twenty minutes
later, troops marched in through the front gate.

Roads leading to the DPR building had earlier been closed to
traffic by the police. A large crowd of local people who had
gathered outside were moved away by security personnel.

A group of journalists were also told to leave the area but
managed to slip into the grounds when students standing guard at
the gate arranged for their passage.

Then soldiers forced their way into the DPR compound.

About 100 students guarding the back gate at first tried to
resist the soldiers, but fled into the building when they heard
the shouted order "attack" above the surrounding commotion.

As the operation got underway, an announcement was made
through a loud speaker: "Fellow students, we ask you to leave the
building peacefully in the name of the reform movement."

Just after midnight, between 100 and 200 students left the
building peacefully and were taken under military escort toward
the front gate. However, once they reached the gate, they refused
to go any further and sat on the ground.

Lt. Col. Nachrowi, spokesman for the Jakarta Military Command,
said the students had agreed to leave peacefully.

Nachrowi had told the students that the building had to be
repaired because House members wanted to resume work today.

All the students, estimated to be 3,000 in number, eventually
agreed to leave and marched towards about 50 buses waiting in the
parking lot.

Students said they had asked to be taken to Atmajaya
University on Jl. Sudirman.

Independent witnesses confirmed that the military operation
passed without any serious incident.

Paulus Mahulete, a lawyer from Jakarta Legal Aid Institute
(LBH), who was inside the building, said most students were
asleep when troops entered the building.

They banged their truncheons on the door to wake the students,
then told them to leave peacefully.

The students put up no resistance and left obligingly.

Andre, from Gunadarma University, said he was the last student
to leave the building. "Not a single shot was fired," he said.

Col. Mazni Harun, an intelligence officer from the Jakarta
Military Command, told reporters: "I confirm that there was no
standing order to open fire."

The building saw a different kind of battle earlier in the
day, when 1,500 supporters of President B.J. Habibie barged into
the compound to confront hundreds of students staging an anti-
Habibie rally.

No serious incidents were reported, but some light scuffles
and heated arguments occurred when the supporters of the new
President hauled down banners erected earlier by the students.

The atmosphere in the complex was tense the entire day.

Some female students and other women, including those who
voluntarily distributed free meals and medical services,
hurriedly left the area.

"These people come so suddenly without our knowledge," a
Trisakti University student told The Jakarta Post while escorting
some female students.

Attired in Moslem dress, such as turbans, peci (Moslem hats)
and jilbabs and carrying prayer mats, most of the Habibie
supporters -- which included housewives and girls -- arrived at
the House compound after their midday Friday prayers by buses.

They repeatedly chanted "Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest)!
Long live Moslems! Long live Indonesia! Long live Habibie," as
they entered the complex.

Those arriving earlier had already lowered some banners
criticizing Habibie and raised theirs.

Some of their banners read "Support Habibie, respect
Constitution" and "Moslem Society from Banten supports President
B.J. Habibie".

Judging from the lettering on the buses, the groups came from
different Islamic societies, including Al-Istiqomah Mosque
congregation of Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta and Moslems of
Tanah Abang in Central Jakarta, Banten and Padeglang in West
Java.

Other participants also claimed themselves as being members of
the Islamic Youth Movement (GPI), the Indonesian Communication
Forum of Youth and Teenager Mosque Activists and the Indonesian
Committee for World Moslem Solidarity (KISDI).

"We're here not to create unrest. We bring no weapons or
stones," said K.H. Abdul Rasyid Abdullah Syafi'ie, leader of the
Assyafi'iyah Islamic organization.

"We came here just to pray together with hundreds of ulemas
for the sake of Moslems, this nation and Habibie," he said.

While he was speaking, other Habibie supporters -- wearing
headbands reading "Constitutional Reform" -- took down banners
defaming Habibie.

Some of the Habibie supporters yelled at students, who held
their ground, and asked them to pull down banners that said
"Soeharto and Habibie are one package, both of them must step
down".

"Why don't we just give Habibie the chance to accomplish his
duties?" yelled M. Halawi of Tanah Abang.

"We Moslems support Habibie because he is intelligent and is a
good Moslem," he said.

Knowing that their fellow protesters could get mad, some
students repeatedly shouted: "Friends, don't get easily
provoked."

The students, who have been reduced in number but still
occupied the House, hastily set up a hand-to-hand line to
delineate themselves from Habibie's supporters.

"We don't know what to do. We just don't want to provoke any
disputes with that group, who are here with their religious
status," said a Moslem student.

However, some students were upset and loudly shouted to the
visiting group "Reject Habibie!".

Most members of both groups remained calm, however, and
incidents of violence were prevented.

The pro-Habibie group later dispersed peacefully in the
evening after 200 security officers arrived at the scene and
worked with the students to prevent any fighting.

The mood at the House calmed down again in the evening as the
Habibie supporters left the area. Laughs and cheers from the
students echoed from many parts of the buildings as fellow
students entertained them in various ways.

The pro-Habibie banners were also replaced with anti-Habibie
banners.

But Abdul Rasyid pledged yesterday that he would lead another
large group of Habibie supporters to the House today to make
their message clear "if necessary".

A similar tense situation had also taken place at the House on
Tuesday when dozens of Soeharto supporters from the Pemuda
Pancasila youth organization met face to face with anti-Soeharto
protesters.

No incidents occurred at that time either.

In a statement, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI),
concerned about yesterday's tense stand-off, said that such
incidents could divide the people at a time when reform had just
been started. (team)