City awash in protests for different demands

JAKARTA (JP): Protests covering various demands were held in the city as President Abdurrahman Wahid clarified his economic and political policies with members of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Thursday.

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) supporters and the City Forum (Forkot) group of student protesters, who earlier announced plans to take to the streets on Thursday, canceled without an explanation.

Dozens of members of Association of Muslim Students (HMI) staging a protest in front of the legislative buildings on Jl. Gatot Subroto in Central Jakarta, demanded that Abdurrahman avoid creating political instability through his policies.

"The dismissal of two Cabinet ministers has caused friction among the elites and weakened the rupiah against the U.S. dollar," said Rachmat Surya Alam Harahap, a protest coordinator.

President Abdurrahman replaced Laksamana Sukardi, the minister of investment and state enterprise development, with Lt. Gen. (ret) Luhut Binsar Panjaitan and Yusuf Kalla, the trade and industry minister, with Rozy Munir.

Dozens of people in white Islamic clothing also staged a protest in front of the DPR compound, demanding Abdurrahman cancel his plan to revoke the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Decree No. 25/1966, which bans the propagation of communism in the country, during the next General Session of the Assembly.

About the same time, dozens of members of the Peace Loving Group of the Nation staged a protest in front of the compound, urging the country's political elites to end conflicts which could disintegrate the nation.

Some 30 workers of PT Kong Tai Indonesia, a producer of Reebok sport shoes located in Bekasi, staged a protest at the legislative buildings from about 9:30 a.m., hoping to capture Abdurrahman's attention, who was addressing a four-hour meeting with legislators.

Meanwhile, some 100 members of student group City Forum canceled on Thursday their plan to stage a protest at the residence of former president Soeharto on Jl. Cendana in Central Jakarta for no clear reason.

The group, riding in nine Metro mini minibuses, toured city streets and stopped at Monumen 1966 on Jl. Rasuna Said, in Central Jakarta, to air their demand for Soeharto's prosecution.

There was no information from PDI Perjuangan activists regarding their canceled protest.

Separately at City Hall, some 30 students of the Wadah Betawi staged a protest at City Hall in the morning, demanding Governor Sutiyoso pay more attention to security problems in the capital.

In the afternoon, about 50 students from various universities demanded the governor abolish the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda). (asa/nvn)