House agrees to meet Susilo on Monday over fuel protests

House agrees to meet Susilo on Monday over fuel protests

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

House of Representatives leaders have agreed to hold a
consultative meeting on Monday with President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono to discuss the fuel price hikes, which many legislators
have rejected.

The decision was seen by many as a setback for certain House
factions that were attempting to set up an immediate inquiry into
the President over the price increases.

The agreement for the consultative meeting was achieved at a
closed-door meeting on Thursday, led by House speaker Agung
Laksono and attended by all faction leaders and chairs of
Commission VII for energy and mineral resources, Commission XI
for finance, as well as the budget committee.

On Monday their first meeting ended in deadlock, with
participants failing to agree to take the issue to a plenary
meeting of the House.

Last week, some 30 legislators from various factions opposed
to the fuel price rises submitted a petition demanding that the
House hold a plenary session to discuss a possible inquiry into
the President.

Signatories to the petition claimed that the President had
violated Law No. 36/2004 on the 2005 state budget, which requires
that the government consult the House regarding all budget
revisions.

A inquiry by the House into President Abdurrahman Wahid in an
alleged corruption scam led to his impeachment in 2001.

House leaders also agreed on Thursday to convene a plenary
session on Tuesday to report the results of the planned
consultative meeting with Susilo.

Commission XI chairman Paskah Suzetta said the decision to
have a consultative meeting with Susilo, rather than approving
the demand for an inquiry, could not be regarded as a setback as
both sides would get a chance to hear the government's
explanations.

House sources said that during Thursday's meeting the House
was divided into two camps, with five factions -- the Golkar
Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Democratic Pioneer
Star faction, the United Development Party (PPP) and the
Democratic Party -- supporting the government's decision on fuel
prices.

Five other factions -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National
Awakening Party (PKB), the Reform Star Party (PBR), and the
Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) -- rejected the rises.

"There were only few legislators who wanted to bring this
issue up at a plenary session during the meeting because the
topic had actually been discussed in Commission XI and Commission
VII meetings (with ministers)," Paskah of Golkar told The Jakarta
Post.

However, PDI-P legislator Trimedya Panjaitan said his faction
would press ahead with lobbying other factions to convince them
to support its demand for an inquiry into Susilo over the fuel
price hikes.

"We don't think that there is any danger in bringing the issue
to a plenary meeting. Even if it goes to a vote, legislators
should not be overly concerned that this will worsen the
situation," he said on the sidelines of Thursday's meeting.

Outside the House compound, some 1,000 students from the
Jakarta Student Executive Body (BEM) held a rally on Thursday
demanding that the government cancel the fuel price increases.

Police prevented the rowdy mob from entering House grounds,
with the protesters bringing down iron gates while pelting
officers with Molotov cocktails and tomatoes.

A delegation of 11 student demonstrators were allowed to enter
the building, but were prevented by dozens of security personnel
from going into rooms where House leaders were meeting.

The students later staged a "free speech forum" outside the
meeting room, and read out a statement outlining their demands.

"We, the Jakarta Student Executive Body, reject the policy of
raising fuel prices and urge that the government revoke
Presidential Decree No. 22/2005. We urge the House of
Representatives to hold a plenary meeting and use their right to
question the president." (006)