PDI supporters out of line in Jakarta: Official

JAKARTA (JP): The Armed Forces said the thousands of supporters of embattled chief of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Megawati Soekarnoputri went too far in their street rally here yesterday.

"They stepped out of line," said chief of Jakarta Regional Military Command Maj. Gen. Sutiyoso of the demonstration by an estimated 8,000 people which ended in a clash with security officers. He said that 25 of his men were seriously hurt in the incident.

"We were not doing anything violent, we were handling the rioting. None of my soldiers did anything beyond the instructions they received," a visibly upset Sutiyoso told reporters as the mass rally continued.

"We've done our best to take a persuasive approach toward these people. My soldiers have also been in full control of themselves," he added.

He also said that his troops made allowances for the situation, letting the protesters march down some of Jakarta's main streets at a busy time of day. "And yet they demanded more," he said.

He vowed he would take "serious action" against the party activists if they held another rally (today).

The demonstrators, who took to the streets in support of Megawati and against the party's splinter group congress in the North Sumatran capital of Medan, started the rally at PDI headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta.

They then moved toward the Monument National Park through Jl. Imam Bonjol, Jl. Husni Thamrin, and Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur before they stopped in front of the Gambir Railway Station in Central Jakarta.

It was in front of the station that the clash with some of the 200 troops, who refused to let the protesters continue to the Ministry of Home Affairs, occurred.

Rioting began after a number of unidentified people in black hurled stones at the troops. Riot police, followed by troops, then charged with batons and rattan sticks into the crowd, beating some protesters and breaking car windows. The protesters attempted to retaliate in kind by hurling stones at the troops.

A number of party executives loyal to Megawati, including Alexander Litaay, Mangara Siahaan, Sophan Sophiaan, and former legislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas took part in the rally. Megawati's sister Sukmawati was also present.

Accounts of casualties varied. Jakarta military spokesman Lt. Col. Didi Supandi said 55 security personnel were injured, 25 of them seriously.

Sutiyoso acknowledged that a journalist was also hurt, but asserted that none from the protesters were injured.

The Jakarta Post observed that three pressmen were injured during the clash. A photographer of the Sinar weekly magazine, Erwin Hadi, a local crewman of the Atlanta-based Cable News Network Iqbal Wahyudin, and a journalist of the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun Tomohiko Ohtsuka, were beaten by the troops. They had attempted to warn the charging troops that they were from the press.

Five stiches

Yenni Djahidin, a reporter from the CNN Jakarta representative office, told the Post that Iqbal needed five stitches in his head, while Erwin had four stitches on his chin.

Ohtsuka said his head was slightly wounded. He was beaten by a riot police officer when he refused to hand over his camera to the officer.

Separately, Chief of the Central Jakarta District Police Lt. Col. Aboebakar Nataprawira told the Post that 18 security officers were injured. He said there were no reports of other injuries or vehicles being damaged.

He said that 57 participants were taken into police custody for questioning.

The party's central board stated last night that one PDI supporter died, 70 other supporters were injured -- five of them were in critical condition, while 70 others were being held in several police and military detention centers.

Similar demonstrations in support of Megawati took place in other cities. In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, hundreds of PDI supporters took to the streets on Wednesday night, condemning the government's endorsement on the splinter group's congress.

In Surabaya, East Java, thousands of PDI supporters also demonstrated along the city's main streets yesterday to express their support for Megawati and criticize the government's stance on the party dispute. (imn/jun/15/20)

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