Protesters forced off the street

JAKARTA (JP): Riot police had to force some 50 students into a truck on Thursday after the students staged a rally that caused a massive traffic jam in a main street of South Jakarta, the chief of South Jakarta Police precinct said.

The students from various universities were protesting against the government's slow action over the Bank Bali scandal when they were seized by the police on Jl. HR Rasuna Said. However, they were released at the Pancoran intersection about one kilometer from the site.

"We had to seize them because they had failed to give prior notice of the rally to the authorities," said police Lt. Col. Satrya Harry Prasetya to reporters.

The protesters, identifying themselves as members of the Student Action Front for Reform and Democracy (FAMRED), started the rally around noon, expressing their concern over the Bank Bali scam that has disrupted investors' confidence in Indonesia's economy.

After failing to persuade the students to disperse peacefully, police officials forced them into a truck. The incident did not end violently and none of the students were injured. (04)