Police detain ten students in clash near Soeharto's house

JAKARTA (JP): A fierce clash between riot police and anti- Soeharto student protesters erupted again near the residence of the former president on Thursday evening after the students incited the conflict by pelting stones and Molotov cocktails toward the law enforcers.

No fatalities were reported. The angry students stopped an official military sedan on nearby Jl. Diponegoro, allowed the driver, Lesman Simatupang, to flee and then set the Mitsubishi Gallant car on fire.

Menteng subprecinct police chief Asst. Supt. Paulus Waterpauw said the students hijacked the car on Jl. Sudirman before they brought it to the crowd and burned it.

Driver Lesman took refuge at the Menteng subprecinct office.

City police spokesman Supt. M. Nur Usman disclosed that his men have detained at least 10 protesters, pending further investigations to identify the provocatuers who provoked the clash.

"We are yet to determine if all those arrested are student demonstrators. But we'll find out from them who actually initiated the clash," he told The Jakarta Post.

According to witnesses, police and the students, the clash started at about 4:30 p.m. after the hundreds of students failed to pass through a police cordon on Jl.Teuku Umar to reach Soeharto's residence.

For unclear reasons, the students then started to hurl stones and molotov cocktails at the officers.

The protesters, claiming to be students from several universities in Jakarta, were demanding that Soeharto undergo a people's trial as they were unsatisfied with the current trial conducted by the government.

A student coordinator Mario Pasaribu told the Post that they will stage another rally next Thursday.

"We want the people to decide the appropriate punishment for Soeharto, not the President," he said.

According to officer Nur, the demonstrators spontaneously threw rocks and Molotov cocktails toward the policemen.

We believe there was provocateurs among the crowd," he explained.

The 10 student demonstrators could be charged under Law No.9/1998 on freedom of speech in a public place because they had staged a rally without police permission. Under the law, violators can be imprisoned for a year.

"Moreover, they attacked the law enforcers and caused public disorder," he said.

The spokesman affirmed that a company of policemen were on standby at Jl. Suwiryo to block demonstrators who were demanding to be let through to reach former president Soeharto's residence on Jl. Cendana, about 100 meters from the scene.

The police deployed four companies into the area, guarding all entries into Jl. Cendana.

By late Thursday, some students were still attacking the authorities but many had already dispersed.(bby/dja)