Police keep 49 street protesters in custody

JAKARTA (JP): City police are detaining 49 people, including students, they apprehended during two days of street protests on Jl. Sudirman, an officer said on Monday.

Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said 30 of the detainees were apprehended at the Slipi intersection in West Jakarta in possession of Molotov cocktails.

"They will be charged under Law No. 12/1951 on the possession of explosives, firearms and sharp weapons. If found guilty they could be sentenced to a maximum of seven years in jail," Zainuri said.

Nineteen people were detained on Jl. Sudirman. Five of these people were apprehended with sharp weapons in their possession and 14 were arrested for attacking city residents, he said.

Mass rallies on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24 were held by thousands of students and others in an effort to force the government to revoke the state security bill. According to the police, at least eight people, including a student from the University of Indonesia and an officer from the National Police's elite Mobile Brigade, were killed during the violent protests.

Five of the bodies were taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital for postmortem examinations.

The police officer, who was killed by a speeding car, was buried in his hometown on Bali. The corpses of the two other civilian casualties are reportedly at Soekanto Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, although the media has been denied access to the bodies.

A number of student groups and non-governmental organizations claim six protesters died during the demonstrations.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman Brig. Gen. Sudradjat said a "stressed officer" could have been responsible for the incident when shots were fired into a crowd on Jl. Sudirman.

The random shooting continues to spark anger among the public and students.

A number of students were seen on the streets of the capital on Monday protesting the shooting and the state security bill.

Jakarta city councilors from the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Justice Party (PK), Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP) said separately on Monday the military should not resort to such acts of violence against civilians.

Councilor Syamsuardi Botan from PAN said the military's actions crossed the line. "The military has been brutal."

The head of the PK faction in the council, Ahmad Heryawan, said: "We condemn the incident."

He also regretted that leaders of the Islamic Defenders Front deployed group members during the clash between protesters and security personnel on Friday.

"They use 'Islam' for their group's name. It's embarrassing," Heryawan said.

Some 100 protesters from City Forum took to the street on Monday to push their demand that the state security bill be revoked, not simply postponed.

They began their demonstration on the campus of Indonesian Christian University in Cawang, before attempting to march to the House of Representatives some 10 kilometers away. After being prevented from reaching the House by security personnel, the protesters peacefully dispersed.

Cities across the country on Monday saw street protests, some of which ended in violent clashes with security personnel.

In Purwokerto, Central Java, clashes in front of the local City Council and Banyumas Police station left scores of protesters and officers wounded. The violence occurred when demonstrators attempted to break through a security cordon.

Waving banners, some of which read "Total Revocation of Security Bill", "Hang Wiranto" and "Wiranto the Source of All Violence in the Country", the protesters demanded Minister of Security and Defense/Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Wiranto be tried for the atrocities committed by the military.

In Yogyakarta, a number of student groups called for Wiranto and President B.J. Habibie to be held accountable for the deaths in Jakarta on Thursday and Friday. They also called for the revocation of the state security bill.

A group of 50 students from Janabadra University staged a hunger strike to honor those who died in Jakarta. "We will continue the fight," a student leader said.

Gadjah Mada University student council chairman Idham Khaliq said the substance of the state security bill was unacceptable.

"The bill clearly takes over the police's role and grants excessive power to the military," Idham said.

In Semarang, the local chapters of the United Development Party and the National Mandate Party expressed their deepest concern over the violence and deaths in Jakarta.

The tragedy would not have occurred if the government was not deaf, they said.

"Enough violence. Let's restore calm and think logically," Hadi Pranoto of PAN said.

In Bandung, students blocked the main avenue of Jl. Diponegoro in front of the Gedung Sate building to protest the state security bill and military violence. (ylt/ind/bsr/43/44/45/har/edt)