Police disperse anti-Soeharto rally
Police disperse anti-Soeharto rally
JAKARTA (JP): Riot police dispersed a student street rally at
the Semanggi cloverleaf in the heart of the capital on Friday
morning, arresting 32 protesters, mostly female students.
According to police, the rally by students from the University
of Indonesia demanding the immediate trial of former president
Soeharto was illegal because protesters did not give prior
notification to police as required by law.
The protest, which began at 6:20 a.m., also disrupted rush-
hour traffic along the normally busy roads surrounding the
cloverleaf, police said.
The commander of the 100-strong riot police unit, Maj.
Soenaryo, said none of the 32 detained protesters would be
jailed.
He said the protesters would be questioned and identified
before being freed later in the evening.
However, a lawyer from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, Daniel
Panjaitan, who temporarily acted as counsel for the protesters,
said the students had been charged with violating Article 510 of
the Criminal Code on holding rallies in public places without
giving prior notification to the police.
The violation carries a maximum punishment of two weeks
imprisonment and a fine of up to Rp 2,250 (three U.S. cents).
The students staged the protest to mark the former president's
78th birthday, which fell on June 8.
They said they originally planned to hold the rally on June 8,
but changed the date so they would not disrupt the general
election.
"It's the right time now to remind people we still have the
big issue (of the trial of Soeharto) to solve," one of the
protesters said at City police headquarters.
During the protest, the students, attired in long white
dresses, placed effigies of Soeharto around the Semanggi
cloverleaf and carried small blackboards upon which were written
various messages, including Jalan tol mahal, kantong Soeharto
tebal (Toll road fees are expensive, Soeharto's pockets are
thicker).
Before making the arrests, several policemen removed the
effigies, a number of which were hung from trees along nearby Jl.
Sudirman.
The officers also seized the headbands worn by the protesters,
apparently as evidence.(emf/jun)