End to student sit-in was as fast and frenzied

JAKARTA (JP): About 200 security personnel stood guard at the House of Representatives (DPR) compound yesterday following the frantic eviction of antigovernment students a few hours earlier.

Armed and with barricades of barbed wire fences, the troop of police, army and marine personnel declared the 60-hectare complex a restricted area.

According to the Jakarta Military Command's chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Sudi Silalahi, the troops would remain on guard at the complex until "the situation is not worrisome anymore".

"We want to anticipate (actions of) certain parties who wish to enter the building, destroy it and create anarchy," he said without elaborating.

In the wee hours yesterday, tension reigned on city's main thoroughfares of Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin and part of Jl. Gatot Subroto in Central Jakarta as thousands of heavily armed police, army and marine personnel packed the area to evict an estimated 3,000 students from the House to Atmajaya Catholic University.

At least five armored tanks roared on the streets at high speed heading back and forth. The vehicles left strong track marks on the roads.

Motorists and residents of nearby areas such as Bendungan Hilir, Karet Semanggi and Karet Kuningan watched the unusual scene with apprehension.

The suspense, which started at about 10 p.m., finally died down at about 5:30 a.m. shortly after dawn broke.

Although no fatalities were recorded, the sudden appearance of the armed security personnel and the heavy convoy of military vehicles at the DPR in the evening drew dozens of local and foreign journalists.

The Jakarta Post assigned 10 of its reporters and photographers in and around the complex. Here are their stories of the eviction:

10 p.m. - 11:15 p.m. : Thousands of security personnel are dispatched with trucks and buses to the back and front gates of the complex. Troops are from the army, police mobile brigade, marine, military and police military officers, attired in their respective uniforms and weapons.

Hundreds of spectators on the other side of Jl. Gatot Subroto watch the maneuver in curiosity, wondering what fate would befall the students gathered inside. Many private vehicles are even permitted to park on the outer side of the front gate. Only students and reporters with identity cards are allowed to enter the complex. Inside, some students prepare to sleep and chat with each other. Some others stand on alert -- with walkie-talkies in their hands -- or have a late supper in different locations of the compound. Most are still in their respective uniforms. At the back entrance, the students form a human barricade and carefully watch anybody entering.

11:25 p.m.: Security personnel suddenly declare the area closed to the public. At the back entrance, the security forces form two lines, starting to block people, including journalists, from entering. "Time is over," one of the officers tells the Post. A foreign television crew begins filming the barricade. Students beseech journalists to come into the complex. "We badly need you," says one of them, ignoring scathing looks from the officers.

11:30 p.m.: A troop of security officers approaches the student barricade. A heated debate ensues. Seconds later, the cry "attack" comes from the security forces. They chase fleeing students. At least two shots, possibly warning rounds, are heard. The noise stuns the other students in the complex, drawing screams as they try to escape in panic. Most of them run toward the main building. Some of the students running from the rear entrance are seen beaten by the troops who try to push the students back. A few seconds later, more troops enter the area. A loud voice, probably from a portable loudspeaker, announces: "Fellow students, we ask all of you to leave this compound peacefully in the name of the reform movement."

11:45 - 1 a.m.: The officers divide the students into groups. Each group containing dozens of people is herded into the glass- door building. There wis a crash as the glass door breaks, shattered by sticks and guns allegedly of officers.

They are forced to do so because of the panicked mass trying to stampede through the two-meter wide glass door.

They keep on pushing the students, kicking and beating them until other officers stop them. It is pitch dark and most of the students are screaming for mercy.

Students rounded up by the officers are pressed into the hall. Gradually the tension dissipates as some troops calm the students down. "It is okay. It is all right. You are safe now."

1:10 a.m.: About 70 buses speedily head to the area from the back entrance. Most of them are empty but a few contain military officers. The front gate is still blockaded. Civilians and bystanders, such as sidewalk vendors, are herded to the front yard.

2 a.m.: The students yell, scream and conduct a free-speech forum surrounded by the troops. They sing Halo-Halo Bandung and chant repeatedly "Reforms will never die".

Crowds gather outside the front gate. At the back entrance, the security bars everybody, including the Indonesian Red Cross and foreign diplomats, from entering the compound. Some water canon vehicles, mobile vacuum cleaners and military trucks carrying barbed wire rush to the back entrance.

2:30 a.m.: The students are packed into about 60 buses, motorcycles and vehicles, under the heavy escort of marines, headed to nearby Atmajaya Catholic University as a temporary shelter. They leave the house singing and yelling: "The sounds of reforms will never die. We'll be back tomorrow."

3 a.m. - 3:30 a.m: The students' convoy is blocked near Semanggi cloverleaf by another troop convoy. The marines try to persuade them to open the barricade. The students are frustrated and try to push through the officers but are stopped by the marines. The students are finally allowed to enter the Atmajaya campus after difficult negotiations.

5 a.m.: The marines disperse and the students settle at the university, leaving the campus at about 9 a.m. (team)