Mass rallies fan out across the country
Mass rallies fan out across the country
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta and several other major cities across
the country played host to mass street rallies airing various
grievances on Monday.
No clashes were reported as of last night.
The rallies, mostly staged by university students, included
one objecting to the almost daily student demonstrations in
Jakarta and several showing support for Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) chairwoman Megawati
Soekarnoputri.
In the South Sulawesi capital of Ujungpandang, about 5,000
students thronged the main streets to denounce the actions of
students in Jakarta.
Protesters said students demonstrators in Jakarta were "pushy
in furthering their will and prone to anarchy".
The students also urged demonstrators in Jakarta to stop
condemning President B.J. Habibie.
Habibie, a candidate in the presidential election in the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Wednesday, was born in
the port city of Pare-Pare, some 230 kilometers north of
Ujungpandang.
"Let the MPR members decide ... do not mock him based on
ethnicity. Don't think that only Jakartans can act like
hoodlums," the group said.
They also urged a halt to the mass deployment of followers of
PDI Perjuangan.
The students were from Hasanuddin University, Makassar State
University, Indonesian Muslim University and State Islamic
Institute (IAIN), the four biggest universities in the province.
"We hit the streets to support the MPR members. They were
chosen by the people and we are supposed tp give them a chance to
channel public aspirations," said student spokeswoman of the
Indonesian Muslim University S.Y. Nadia.
There is no need to pressure the legislators in the name of
public interest, she added.
"Do those students in fact have their own interests?" Nadia
said.
Iswary Al Farizy of Makassar University added: "Students in
Jakarta act as if they are the saviors and owners of this
republic. The movement is counterproductive because they are
terrorizing the legislators."
His group said the student movement must be impartial.
"If they side with certain parties, it means that they deny
the essence of morality in the student movement," Iswary said.
In Semarang, about 5,000 supporters of PDI Perjuangan
reportedly left for Jakarta on Monday to show their support for
Megawati.
"They've already left and we could not stop them as it was
their own wish. We could only remind them to act in an orderly
manner and not instigate disturbances during the General
Session," the PDI Perjuangan secretary in Semarang, Mulyo
Wirasmo, said.
Meanwhile, about 1,000 of the party's task force members also
left for Jakarta from Demak regency in Central Java.
"They have departed of their own accord and paying their own
expenses, not on the party's orders," PDI Perjuangan chairman in
Demak M. Ghofar said.
In Surabaya, protesters grouped in the People's Action
Movement (GAM) wore PDI Perjuangan attributes as they marched
along the city's main avenues on Monday.
They condemned Habibie for his failure to uphold human rights
and eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism.
Waving huge banners in support of Megawati, the group
repeatedly shouted "Megawati or Revolution" and "If Habibie
fails, give it to Mega".
They also urged crowds of onlookers to support Megawati as the
country's fourth president.
No clashes were reported during the tightly guarded protest.
"If Megawati is betrayed by the political elite, the people
are ready for revolution," shouted the protesters.
A source said that hundreds of Megawati supporters were about
to leave the West Java capital of Bandung in 50 buses early
Tuesday for Jakarta.
They are expected to arrive at the Pulogadung and Kampung
Rambutan bus terminals at 5 a.m. on Tuesday. (27/har/nur/edt/bsr)