Nation awaits new government
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto remained closeted in his Cendana residence in Central Jakarta yesterday, amid growing speculation that he would step down today.
Informed sources told The Jakarta Post that Soeharto would hand over the presidency to Vice President B.J. Habibie at the State Palace this morning at 9 a.m.
There was no official comment.
Separately, leading government critic Amien Rais was quoted by AP as saying yesterday that a "friend in the government" had told him that Soeharto would resign Thursday and that Habibie would lead a transitional government to prepare for an election within six months.
A flurry of activity was reported at Soeharto's residence. Journalists were told to wait until the very early hours of this morning for the results of meetings between Soeharto and Minister/State Secretary Saadilah Mursjid, former vice president Sudharmono and constitutional law expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra.
It was also reported that earlier in the evening, Minister of Defense and Security Affairs/Armed Forces commander Gen. Wiranto met with the three Armed Forces Chiefs of Staff and the National Police Chief.
Meanwhile, some 2,000 students held out in the grounds of the House of Representatives/People's Consultative Assembly (DPR/MPR) in Senayan, braving rain and exhaustion in order to keep to their word not to leave until President Soeharto resigns.
One student said he would remain in the parliament complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, until their demands were fulfilled.
"It does not matter if it takes weeks or months. We will stay here until there is a change in the national leadership," he said in a speech which drew applause from fellow students.
The group which remained last night was the rump of more than 30,000 students who took control of the building on Tuesday and yesterday. Almost no ground was left uncovered by protesters, including the legislators' offices. Most protesters left in the late afternoon on chartered buses.
The students represented more than 50 universities from many cities. During the demonstration they marched, listened to speeches, prayed, sang songs, slept and ate in groups scattered all through the compound.
Only the parking lot to the rear of the building still looked neat, clean and empty. The front of the compound was not only full of students in various varsity colors, but also of the litter which they left behind.
Thousands of ordinary people were seen giving their support to the students outside the complex. Only students were allowed to enter, and security officers as well as student leaders carefully checked every new group of arrivals.
"This is to prevent possible intruders from coming in and provoking the students," Udin, a security officer, said.
"We will not leave until Soeharto quits and we want him to quit now," Rama Pratama, chairman of University of Indonesia student senate, said.
Rama said the students would make the House complex their fighting ground. "The House is the people's institution. We want to maximize the use of this building and fight for reforms from here."
The students continued with their fiery anti-government speeches and discussions of the country's political situation until late yesterday evening. A group of University of Indonesia students sat on the floor in the new wing of the building and attempted to study.
"We have our exams next week, so we have to prepare," one student said. He did not say whether that meant he and his colleagues would eventually have to leave the DPR/MPR building regardless of the outcome of the demonstration.
Some students, however, admitted not only to fatigue but also to tension following a rumor that a certain politically well- connected youth organization planned to pick a fight and create unrest -- a situation that would justify military intervention.
Meanwhile, Jakarta Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. DJ. Nachrowi said he had not received any orders to break up the demonstration.
"The building belongs to the people, to all of us. The students are using the place to express their concern over the state of the nation. We certainly can't prohibit them from doing so," he told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.
He said the military had left it up to the students to decide when to leave the complex, emphasizing that the Armed Forces (ABRI) would not force the students out.
"The building does not have the facilities to accommodate so many students, so I don't think they will stay there for long. The students should decide for themselves whether to stay or leave," he said.
In the evening, senior city military officers -- led by Jakarta Military Command Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Sudi Silalahi -- were investigating reports of a break-in and theft in an office on the 10th floor of the building.
The reports alleged that some archives and records were missing, including documents dating from the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly of 1966 which appointed Soeharto as acting president in Sukarno's place. Remnants of documents which had been burned were also found at the scene.
Aurora Simandjuntak, who's office was broken into, said that she saw a man and a woman flee as she approached the room early yesterday morning.
A telephone, a radio tape recorder, a clock and a diary were also missing from her room. "The intruders were not students, I believe that," she said.
Amien
In the afternoon, leading opposition figure Amien Rais was cheered by thousands of students when he and other leading government critics such as senior economist Emil Salim and former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin showed up at the House. Amien's car had to inch carefully through the thick lines of students who rushed to welcome him into the compound.
His presence was warmly welcomed by the students who repeatedly shouted "reform!".
Earlier yesterday, Amien accused the military of being willing to tolerate a "Tiananmen situation" - a reference to the 1989 massacre of hundreds of pro-democracy students by Chinese troops in Beijing's main square.
"An army general (told me) he doesn't care at all if a Tiananmen accident ... takes place in Jakarta today," Amien said, referring to plans to hold a huge rally which he canceled after a massive overnight deployment of security forces in the city center.
"I was shocked to hear that," he said.
"The world has witnessed the overwhelming security measures taken by the military to bar the people from approaching a public area," he said in a statement.
"They have made Jakarta look like a garrison city. This show of force is a blatant exhibition of state terrorism," he said.
"This was all done despite Soeharto's previous statement that he would never use military force to hold onto his presidency," he added.
Oath
Earlier yesterday, the students swore to stand united under one command and to resist all provocation.
Led by Zainuddin from Islamic University Azzahra, the students vowed they would not allow any attempts at provocation to distract them from their demands for reform, and that they would remain in the House compound, whatever the risks.
They also read the following oath: "We, the people of Indonesia, declare there is only one motherland -- the motherland without oppression. We declare that we are of one nation, a nation which loves justice. We declare that we have only one language -- the language of truth." (team)