End to student sit-in was as fast and frenzied

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)