Jakartans grumble about student rally at the House

JAKARTA (JP): Unlike the student rallies staged early this year that led to the resignation of president Soeharto, Monday's demonstration by some 1,000 students in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) complex received a cold response from many Jakartans.

The unexpected student rally, which among other things demanded President B.J. Habibie quit and prices of essential foods be reduced, upset many people after it prompted the security forces to close part of Jl. Gatot Subroto, the major thoroughfare which runs in front of the complex.

Stressed-out motorists and commuters had to waste masses of valuable time in bumper-to-bumper traffic to find alternative routes.

Many claimed they had spent between three and six times longer than usual on their journeys.

The impact of the rally, which continued Tuesday with far fewer participants, not only affected people's journey times but also businesses.

Z. Retno Hapsari, a reporter for a private television station, said she was unable to get her news back to the studio for the 4:30 p.m. program on Monday as the car carrying her and her colleagues was forced to crawl at a snail's pace along Jl. Sudirman to her office in the nearby Bendungan Hilir district.

"I was so tired and upset because I'd been waiting all day from morning to get the news," she recalled.

Retno admitted that she knew about the student protest in the afternoon but never thought that the impact would be so great.

She said she had no problem with it but urged the demonstrators to consider the needs of the public.

"Please arrange protests with the police so people can still use the public facilities (roads) as usual," Retno suggested.

Dewi Rafiantini, an employee of a foreign bank, could only leave her office on Jl. Sudirman at 8 p.m. on Monday.

"This morning (Tuesday), there was still heavy traffic congestion on some of the city's main thoroughfares as many roads had been blockaded by the security personnel. It's very annoying. So many people suffered losses, particularly time," she said.

Dewi, who joined the student rallies at the House complex last May, said she had no idea about the students' agenda this time round or why they wanted to stage such a massive street demonstration at the same place.

"At a time like this, I'd prefer it if the students could use their energy to do other, positive, things such as giving concrete ideas to poor people on how to cope with the current crisis.

I'd like to suggest that the students should stop the rallies for the mean time. All of us are really concerned about the increasing number of starving people nationwide. Then, what's the use of the rally if it only inflicts losses on other people?" Dewi questioned.

A Kosti taxi driver said he was trapped for hours in Cawang.

"But thank God I didn't have any passengers," he said.

He said he strongly supported the students' demands but wanted them to also think about other people.

"I agree with the students who demanded the government reduce the price of rice but if they protest like that, how can people like me work and earn money to live?" he asked.

For Sandra, who works at a foreign embassy in Kuningan, Monday's rally resulted in her arriving back at her office from an afternoon assignment after the building had closed.

"I arrived at my office at 6:30 p.m. after spending two hours traveling from the Radisson hotel (at Pecenongan, Central Jakarta)," she recalled.

The trip usually takes less than 30 minutes. Her office closed at 5 p.m.

"I support the student demonstrations but I'm not happy with this one. Next time, they should plan such a rally more carefully," Sandra said.

Theresia Sri Nayuti, a secretary at insurance firm PT Astra CMG Life, was trapped for almost 40 minutes in heavy traffic congestion on Jl. Gatot Subroto.

While backing the students' move, Theresia, however, hoped that in future the students would publicly announce their plan for such a rally so the people could avoid the area where the protest was planned to be held.

"I also hope, in the future, students hold demonstrations during holidays," she said.

Fennie, an employee of a garment exporting company on Jl. MH Thamrin, said she was forced to spend much longer than usual on the streets on Monday because she was trapped in heavy traffic jams due to the student demonstration.

"Driving home, which usually takes only about half an hour, took up to two hours on Monday," she said.

"Despite the hardship, I'm not against the protesting students as such demonstrations are still needed to show the government the level of dissatisfaction over the way they are running the country," she said.

Fennie urged the students to stage their protests in a more orderly manner so as not to disturb other people, especially motorists.

"It would be better for them not to cause damage as well. Damaging public facilities would only hamper the original objectives of their protest," she added.

Housewife Farah had just completed exercising at a gym at the Manggala Wanabakti building next to the House complex when she discovered she was surrounded by a strong police and military presence at the Manggala bus stop.

"I was alone. The road was totally occupied by the security personnel and the student demonstrators. No buses. No taxis.

One of the soldiers led me to get a bus passing along the toll road but the police officers did not allow any vehicles to stop," she recalled.

Farah said she finally had to walk a few kilometers and wait for more than an hour to get a bus.

Monday's scenes quickly brought the May riots flooding back to her.

"I was really scared and upset," she admitted.

When asked to comment on the protest, Governor Sutiyoso stated on Tuesday that he would let people stage street rallies to freely express their demands as long as they did not end violently.

"If the city is rocked by riots again, like those that occurred in May, I don't know what will happen to us. We will be sunk deep to the very bottom of the sea," the governor said.

The mid-May riots left hundreds of people killed or burned to death and hundreds of others injured. Hundreds of buildings, offices and shops were set ablaze, causing billions of rupiah in losses.

Commenting on the public complaints about the traffic problems, Sutiyoso said simply: "It is a logical result of any street demonstration." (ind/ivy/jun/hhr/bsr/emf)