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)