Nation awaits new government

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)