Opposition to state security bill gains momentum

Opposition to state security bill gains momentum

JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of people, mostly students, took to
the streets of the capital and other major cities across the
country on Wednesday to protest once again the state security
bill they fear will give excessive power to the military.

With the military-sponsored bill set to be approved today
(Thursday) by the House of Representatives, demonstrators have
said even bigger nationwide mass rallies will be held.

Security troops and military vehicles blockaded most of the
street rallies held on Wednesday, with the majority of protesters
dispersing peacefully.

However, scuffles broke out in Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung,
leaving dozens of protesting students wounded after riot police
and military officers beat them with sticks and batons.

Police arrested 39 people at a rally on Jl. MT Haryono in East
Jakarta.

Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said the
detained included "two vendors, one new graduate from Undip
(Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java), and scores of
students from Bung Karno University here".

The rallies, staged by protesters from dozens of universities
and student groups, all of whom made their way to the House in
Central Jakarta, created heavy traffic congestion in the area.

Opposition to the bill has generated the first mass rallies
recorded in many big cities since early last year, when the
country was rocked by a wave of street protests demanding the
resignation of then president Soeharto.

In addition to protests in Jakarta and Surabaya, rallies
against the state security bill also took place in Semarang,
Yogyakarta, Bandung and Ujungpandang.

In Jakarta, the first wave of the rally was initiated by
hundreds of members from the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC). They
arrived in front of the House gate at 9 a.m. without arousing the
suspicions of security personnel.

Security personnel initially thought that the group members
were ordinary bus passengers, who had disembarked near the gate.

The protesters, who included children and elderly women,
staged a half hour protest outside the gate before security
members requested the group leave the area. Security members then
began to push the protesters away from the gate.

Injury

At least 10 UPC members were injured following a clash between
the demonstrators and security members.

"We indeed conducted a peaceful rally, but the police started
to push us away from the building with some of us being beaten
and kicked," said UPC coordinator Wardah Hafidz.

After being dragged some 300 meters away from the gate, the
protesters continued to urge House members to drop the bill until
they dispersed peacefully at 1 p.m.

About one hour later, a group of some 100 students from
Jakarta Islamic University, Sahid University and Company
Executives Academy disembarked from buses outside the House gate.

Armed troops immediately dispersed the group.

The largest group of protesters arrived near the House in the
evening.

Grouped under Forum Kota (Forkot) and the Family of Trisakti
Students (Kamtri), the protesters marched from Atma Jaya Catholic
University at the Semanggi cloverleaf, some 600 meters away from
the House.

Unfurling banners and posters detailing their strong
opposition to the bill, the students failed to break through a
security cordon of riot officers.

After making their way to the Senayan flyover, 100 meters from
the House, the group leaders staged a free speech forum before
six trucks of Joint Military-Police Crack Riot Troops forced the
students back to the Atma Jaya campus.

Mixil of Forum Kota said the student's withdrawal was to avoid
any clashes with the security personnel.

"We have new students with us. We don't want those students to
have a traumatic experience should we have to clash with the
security personnel. Otherwise, they might be reluctant to join
our protest again," he said.

Another Forum Kota activist Bopin said the protest was purely
a test run for another bigger protest scheduled for Thursday.

Other cities

In Semarang, about 500 students from state and private
universities staged similar protests in front of the Central Java
Provincial Legislative Council on Jl. Pahlawan.

Participating higher education institutions included Undip,
State Institute of Education (IKIP), Sultan Agung Islamic
University and Dian Nusantara School of Computers.

Waving banners with slogans such as: "Security bill: A Legal
Way for a Military Coup", "Security Bill Causes People to
Suffer", the protesters urged the legislators to drop the bill.

The group then marched to the famous Simpang Lima Square.

In Ujungpandang, some 100 demonstrators grouped in the South
Sulawesi People's Action marched to the local council, airing the
same demand.

Joining the protests were members of non-governmental
organizations, workers, students and activists. Police and
military officers quickly blockaded the group.

"We don't have time to argue with you (officers) because
Jakarta will endorse the bill on Thursday," shouted the angry
protesters.

In Yogyakarta, a group of students and activists staged a
joint rally outside the local council against the bill and
distributed antimilitary flyers.

"People must unite to reject military domination, which would
only ruin democracy," shouted the protesters.

In Surabaya, police moved in to break up a protest when some
300 students tried to force their way into the provincial
legislature building.

According to Reuters, police beat the students, injuring
eight, before the crowd finally dispersed.

In Bandung, four student protesters and one police officer
were injured in a clash in front of the local council office when
protesters tried to push their way past a security blockade
outside the building's gate.

Protesters included members of the Democratic People's Party
(PRD) and Total Reforms People's Front.

After staging a free speech forum, the protesters dispersed
later in the afternoon.

Minister of Security and Defense/Indonesian Military Commander
Gen. Wiranto said on Monday in a hearing with legislators in
Jakarta that mounting pressure against the bill was due to
people's "lack of understanding regarding the bill's content".

"It's the same with the offer of a cookie, but before tasting
it ... you already say 'No'. You reject the cookie when in
fact ... it's a very delicious one," Wiranto said as quoted on
Monday by private station SCTV. (asa/03/30/44/43/har/edt/ylt)