Demonstrators turn out if force outside House

Demonstrators turn out if force outside House

JAKARTA (JP): Braving heavy rain, thousands of protesters
swarmed the streets around the House of Representatives (DPR) on
Thursday to apply pressure on President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur"
Wahid to resign over alleged involvement in two financial
scandals.

Thousands of others converged on the same site with
contradictory calls, only to spark verbal clashes.

Police estimated that as many as 10,000 protesters showed up,
most of them calling for Abdurrahman Wahid to quit.

As most legislators strongly suspect that Gus Dur played a
role in the Bulog and Brunei financial scandals, over 5,000
student protesters filled the road from the Jakarta Police
headquarters on Jl. Sudirman to the DPR complex, shouting anti-
Gus Dur slogans.

"Why Gus Dur? He is destroying our country. He is of no use,"
a student from the National University shouted through a
megaphone prompting thousand of others to join him in crying out
anti-Gus Dur slogans.

"If it is proven that he is involved in those scandals, Gus
Dur must resign!"

Traffic police were forced to block Jl. Gatot Subroto, the
Cawang-Grogol tollroad and streets in Pejompongan leading to the
DPR complex, to obstruct buses carrying hundreds of protesters.

Over 4,000 riot police officers tried their best to block
protesters from entering DPR, and tried to keep them apart.

Grouped under various organizations like City Forum (Forkot),
Trisakti Students Unity Action (Kamtri) and Students Action for
Democracy Forum (Famred), protesters failed to break through the
cordons of police officers guarding the DPR complex, but managed
to heighten tension, and traffic in the Semanggi-Slipi area.

Heavy showers caused anti-Gus Dur protesters from Central Java
and West Java to disperse and to retreat on foot towards Jl. K.S.
Tubun in Tanah Abang, but the rain didn't stop the arrival of
Forkot, Famred and Kamtri, who voiced their support for the
special inquiry committee.

Although praising the protesters for refraining themselves
from violence, City Police chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman
admitted a small brawl erupted between two groups outside the
heavily guarded House building as legislators were debating over
what action should be taken against the President.

"So far, Jakarta remains under control, and we hope that that
can be maintained. The protesters have exercised their right in
quite an orderly manner," Mulyoni said.

The House voted almost unanimously on Thursday to endorse the
results of the investigation report presented by a special
committee in a plenary session on Monday.

The investigation revolved around two multi-million dollar
financial scandals -- one involving the diversion of Rp 35
billion funds from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) foundation,
and the other Abdurrahman's accounting over a US$2 million gift
from the Sultan of Brunei.

Abdurrahman has repeatedly pleaded innocent and claims he knew
nothing about the scandals. He also insisted he would not resign
despite mounting pressure on him to do so.

Students played a pivotal role in the ousting of former
president Soeharto in May 1998, in which Abdurrahman was among
leaders at the vanguard of the reform movement.

Mulyono said some 15,000 police troops were deployed to
maintain security and order in the capital and would remain in
place for another few weeks under the operation code named Sadar
Jaya.

National Police Chief Gen. Suroyo Bimantoro told reporters at
the scene that the capital was in a "normal condition and
secure."

"I traveled around Jakarta using our helicopter. Crowds are
concentrated at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, in Salemba
(Central Jakarta) and around the DPR complex. Other then that,
Jakarta is safe," Bimantoro told reporters, after inspecting his
forces at the DPR complex.

"I also ask all protesters not to use violence when
protesting. If they do, the police will take firm action. The DPR
complex is actually not meant for people to take sides and
protest."

Tension heightened as pro-Gus Dur protesters obstructed
thousands of students grouped in the Student Executive Body (BEM)
-- mostly arriving from Java -- from standing in front of the
gates to the DPR complex.

The students were finally allowed to do so, but it ended with
police having to close the Cawang-Grogol tollroad.

Some pro-Gus Dur supporters armed with long sticks, who were
separated from the students by the toll road partition, ended up
throwing softdrinks bottles and paper at the students.

At a separate event, students grouped under the National
Students League for Democracy (LMND), Forkot and the Swadarma
University demanded the disbandment of the Golkar Party.

As the rain stopped, protesters marched on to the heavily-
guarded presidential palace to repeat their demands after hearing
that the House had almost overwhelmingly accepted the result of
the investigation into the scandals which implicated Gus Dur.

Outside the palace, armored cars and security troops were
prepared for action.

After some time the students marched off to the nearby Supreme
Court building, where another group of Gus Dur opponents had
amassed.

Military troops and police watched over the rally, the largest
to have been staged in front of the State Palace yet.