Pro-govt rallies continue in Java

Pro-govt rallies continue in Java

JAKARTA (JP): The wave of support for President Abdurrahman
Wahid continued in Central Java on Tuesday with demands that the
President remain in office until 2004 and that the Golkar Party
be dissolved.

In Semarang, Central Java, around 1,000 supporters of
President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid expressed their wish on
Tuesday that the President and Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri remain in office until 2004.

The demonstrators, grouped under the Red and White
Undercurrent Alliance of Magelang, also demanded that Golkar be
dissolved and that People's Consultative Assembly speaker Amien
Rais and House of Representative speaker Akbar Tandjung quit.

They also urged the President to speed up the reform agenda
of the eradication of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN).

In the town of Brebes, some 5,000 people rallied in support of
Abdurrahman crowding the regency legislative council building
before marching around the town.

They urged that Abdurrahman disband Golkar, "or members of
Golkar in the House would continue their maneuvers to rock the
government."

In Surakarta some 50 students took to the streets urging the
political elite to unite to save the "ship of Indonesia from
sinking".

In Yogyakarta, protesters calling themselves the People's
Struggle Committee for Total Reform (KPRRT) staged a rally here
on Tuesday demanding total reform in the country, including the
disbandment of the Golkar Party and confiscation of former
president Soeharto's wealth.

The 250 protesters converged in front of Golkar Party's office
on Jl. Jendral Sudirman, including university students, street
singers, and street children.

At noon, the protesters sealed Golkar's faction room of the
council's building as a symbol of their struggle against the New
Order and dispersed peacefully minutes later.

Last week protesters sealed the Yogyakarta Golkar provincial
office.

In the Bali capital of Denpasar protesters from the Indonesian
Islamic Student Movement (PMII) staged a peaceful protest on
Tuesday, demanding the legislative body truly work on reform
instead of "maneuvering to topple Abdurrahman".

The group marched to the provincial council building from
Udayana University on Jl. Sudirman at around 9 a.m. "Those
attempting to topple Gus Dur were being engineered and financed
by the New Order regime," the protesters shouted.

Suspects

Meanwhile, in Jakarta some 40 ulemas, students and activists
from East Java met the National Police Chief Gen. Surojo
Bimantoro on Tuesday, denying their involvement in the burning of
the provincial office of Golkar Party in Surabaya.

"We came here for clarification. Many of us saw that the fire
started at the backyard of the office before the masses entered
the office," chairman of the East Java delegation Sunarto A.S.
told reporters after the closed-door meeting at the National
Police headquarters.

Bimantoro welcomed the information saying police would
investigate the possible causes of the riots.

He said 14 people had been detained over the torching of
Golkar Party offices in East Java.

Also in Jakarta, Minister of National Education Yahya Muhaimin
called on Tuesday for all students from elementary to high school
not to join demonstrations to avoid interference in their
studies.

"I think it's cruel to exploit students like that," Yahya said
on the sidelines of a session with Commission VI of the House of
Representatives (DPR).

"Senior university students, however, are more mature and able
to make a decision on their own. As long as they do not resort to
violence or anarchy, I think critical thought about national
issues is important," Yahya told The Jakarta Post.

Meanwhile Gus Dur, Megawati, Amien and Akbar failed to appear
in a meeting organized by student' organizations, including
GMNI (Indonesian National Students Movement), PMKRI (Catholic
Students Association), HMI (Indonesian Islamic Students
Association), GMKI (Indonesian Christian Students Movement) and
Indonesian Islamic Students Association (PMII) at the Borobudur
Hotel in Jakarta on Tuesday evening.

Only Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid and Minister of Defense
Mahfud MD arrived in the forum where the political leaders were
supposed to meet.

Responding to reporters' questions on the absence of the four
leaders, Nurcholish said that meeting of minds might be better
than a physical meeting. "Such a meeting may make the four
understand each other more."

While Minister Mahfud said that the four may have failed to
appear because of their own political reasons. "The fate of the
country does not depend on such a meeting."

Before the meeting, Amien had told reporters that he would not
attend, while Akbar had said that he would attend his party's
meeting. (team)