Huge rallies fail to materialize in the capital

Huge rallies fail to materialize in the capital

JAKARTA (JP): To everyone's surprise, the capital was free
from huge rallies which had been expected to mark a plenary
session at the House of Representatives to hear President
Abdurrahman Wahid's reply to its first memorandum of censure on
Wednesday.

There was business as usual in major streets around the State
Palace, Hotel Indonesia traffic junction, the House and other
public places where both supporters and opposition of the
embattled President usually assemble.

Dozens of security troops were seen guarding the palace, while
hundreds of others were deployed at the House.

A demonstration did take place at the City Hall, staged by
hundreds of people working in construction services who demanded
that the council's speaker, Edy Waluyo, revoke his approval of an
extension to a city regulation which requires construction
service providers to register with the city administration.

Another rally was held in front of the Dutch Embassy on Jl.
Rasuna Said by some 30 people who demanded international
intervention as a last resort to settle the conflict in troubled
Aceh. The group was part of hundreds of activists representing
the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) from across Greater
Jakarta, who camped on a sidewalk close to the embassy overnight.

A man, identified as Yudi Engran, stole the show at the House
building with a lone protest. In his statement, the 30-year-old
man criticized members of the political elite who continue to
fight each other at the public's expense.

Rumors of mass rallies had circulated prior to Wednesday's
House session after thousands of Abdurrahman supporters streamed
into the capital. They marched through the capital on Tuesday in
show of support for the President, who was elected in 1999 after
chairing the country's largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul
Ulama for 15 years.

The NU youth-wing Anshor Movement chairman, Saifullah Yusuf,
revealed on Wednesday the reason behind why the rally failed to
materialize.

He said Abdurrahman's supporters had been banned from the
streets to prove their compliance with the President's orders.

"We urged them not to stage a protest because further public
pressure against the House would only discredit Gus Dur and cause
trouble to the country. I am glad that people have started to
realize that," Saifullah told The Jakarta Post, referring to the
President by his nickname.

He said Anshor had persuaded Abdurrahman's supporters to
express their support in their respective towns peacefully.

"What happened today was a good example of the ability of
members of the public to listen to different opinions," Saifullah
said.

He also said he was still trying to ask thousands of
Abdurrahman supporters from other provinces to leave the capital.

Chairman of University of Indonesia's Student Executive Board
(BEM) Taufik Riyadi told the Post that students in opposition to
the President kept off the streets to give him a chance at
delivering his reply and to avoid a showdown with their pro-
Abdurrahman counterparts.

"We decided to follow the constitutional process and to allow
it to run its course so that we could listen to the President's
answer. We consider mass mobilization to no longer be effective,
in fact it is counterproductive to our movement," Taufik said.

He further said that students were seeking another form of
peaceful movement to show Abdurrahman the door.

In Makassar, some 100 students of the Indonesian Muslim
Students Action Front (KAMMI) took to the streets demanding that
President Abdurrahman step down, and that the House issue a
second memorandum of censure.

The students were of the opinion that Abdurrahman was
defending himself rather than responding to the House's first
memorandum.

Meanwhile, in Bandung, dozens of supporters of the People's
Democratic Party (PRD), Democrat-Socialist Union (PSD) and Young
Socialist Democrats (SMD), clashed with police officers as they
tried to force their way into the provincial legislature building
to air their demands for the dissolution of Golkar.

Three demonstrators were beaten provoking other demonstrators
to pelt the policemen with stones, bottles and other solid
objects. The police threw the objects back at demonstrators.
(27/25/sur/rms/dja)