Police seize weapons from protesters at DPR
JAKARTA (JP): Police began collecting sharp weapons on Friday from demonstrators for and against President Abdurrahman Wahid aiming to enter the House of Representatives (DPR) compound.
No clashes were reported between the opposing groups gathering only a day after a heated confrontation at the same venue.
Dozens of policemen guarded the front and rear gates of the compound from mid-morning Friday, inspecting protesters and collecting sharp weapons.
Police also searched vehicles used by the protesters, mostly buses, looking for weapons. Hundreds of other police stood ready on the grounds of the compound, watching for trouble.
Some 5,000 pro-Abdurrahman protesters poured into the compound on Friday, outnumbering the 1,500 anti-President protesters who have regularly visited the compound since last week.
The protesters gave up their weapons after they were gathered by the police for a negotiation.
"After the negotiation, the protesters released their weapons voluntarily to the police," said Sr. Insp. T.S. Gulian Syah, chief of the City Police Patrol Unit, who directly supervised the operation.
The operation was carried out after both camps met face-to- face on Thursday, brandishing sharp weapons.
"The action was taken to avoid fatal clashes between the two sides," said Gulian.
None of the protesters were arrested.
"If we had acted harshly, it would only create chaos. Therefore, we persuasively asked them to release their weapons, agreeing to return the weapons after they concluded their protests later in the evening," Gulian said.
By midday, some 60 weapons were collected by the police.
The police also separated the two groups. Supporters were allotted a space in front of the main building, while the anti- President camp was asked to occupy space at the rear of the building.
Djaffar Effendi, a supporter of Abdurrahman, said he hadn't prepared himself for a clash, carrying a weapon in his village is traditional.
"It's a tradition among Madura people to take sharp weapons while out of their homes," said Djaffar, a Madurese who lives in Buaran area, East Jakarta.
Soon after the negotiation, anti-Abdurrahman protesters were ready to leave the compound.
"We obeyed the police request to leave the compound, since we wanted to avoid violence," said Nursalim Dahlan, a coordinator of the anti-President protesters.
The protesters then joined with other anti-President protesters and staged a demonstration at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, some two kilometers from the House compound.
The arrival of the anti-President protesters, riding in 24 buses, forced other groups of protesters to immediately depart the scene.
Several groups of students from Mercu Buana University and the Action Collective Network previously staged protests for different reasons, namely accelerating the trial of former president Soeharto and evaluating President Abdurrahman's performance.
A minor incident occurred as a firecracker, believed to be from the student protesters, exploded among the anti-President protesters while the students were leaving the scene toward Jl. Sudirman. The late arriving group followed after to retaliate, but stopped when leaders with cooler heads prevailed.
During the demonstration from about 3 p.m. to 5 p.m, the protesters demanded the President step down for failing to carry out reform and enforce the law and restore the economy.
From the traffic circle, the protesters continued on to the State Palace.
Meanwhile, some 150 students, grouped under the Indonesian Muslim Students Association (HMI), staged a protest in front of the State Palace, condemning the President for failing to settle the Aceh problem.
"The President has failed to keep the country intact. It is proven by the Aceh problem. The problem is still there, and the government continues using the old militaristic approach, causing many victims.
"The President's inability to settle the problem is a compelling reason to force him to quit his office," said Ali Norman, the coordinator of protesters. (asa)