Police keep 49 street protesters in custody

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)