Protests mount as election looms

Protests mount as election looms

JAKARTA (JP): The capital witnessed more protest groups taking
to the major streets on Wednesday with each of them carrying
different themes and demands.

No serious clashes were recorded during the protests, which
took place at different spots in the city in the presence of
security troops.

The rain that fell on parts of the capital at 3 p.m. did not
immediately disperse the protesters, who came from different
walks of life.

Some of the protesting groups pledged to return to the streets
on Thursday to demand that the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) reject President B.J Habibie's accountability speech later
that evening.

As usual, a number of streets were heavily congested due to
the rallies.

However, most business centers and offices still operated as
usual. Many traders and private employees, particularly those
located on the popular thoroughfares for demonstrators, insisted
on going about their activities as usual.

"Our office will still be open and all of the employees will
carry out their respective jobs as usual," Joneka M.K. Kandou of
Japan Airlines (JAL) said from his office in the Kyoei Prince
Building on Jl. Sudirman.

At least three groups of protesters reached the Senayan
flyover on Wednesday, which is only a short walk from the heavily
guarded Assembly building, to express their opinions, mostly on
East Timor and the role of the military in politics.

Minor incidents occurred at the Australian Embassy in South
Jakarta as hundreds of student protesters shouted abuse and
hurled tomatoes and stones at the premises, protesting the
perceived arrogance of Australian troops in East Timor.

Around 100 men from North Jakarta arrived first, some of whom
were wearing Aitarak (an East Timoresre militia) t-shirts. They
carried a huge Indonesian flag and hurled insults at the
Australian government and military.

The group was then replaced by some 200 students from the
private Jayabaya university, who besides yelling anti-Australian
slogans, also pelted the embassy building with tomatoes and
stones.

The second batch only stayed briefly and gave way to a third
group who arrived aboard several buses.

The new arrivals, from Borodubur private university in East
Jakarta, burned an Australian flag in front of the embassy.

Their huge banners urged the Assembly to "react strongly" to
Australia.

But the students also called on Indonesians not to be violent
towards any Australians staying in this country.

Meanwhile, the traffic circle in front of Hotel Indonesia in
Central Jakarta was dominated by thousands of supporters of the
chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle,
(PDI-Perjuangan) Megawati Soekarnoputri, the front runner in the
presidential race.

Coming from various organizations, their number reached some
2,000 people by 3 p.m.

The groups, mostly clad in the party's red and black colors,
carried large banners to express their strong support for
Megawati, a daughter of the country's first president. One of her
supporters wore a gorilla costume, which attracted onlookers.

"Long live Megawati! Megawati or Revolution !" chanted the
protesters. Around 3 p.m, the hundreds of PDI-Perjuangan
sympathizers marched south along Jl. Sudirman, causing heavy
traffic congestion.

Other protesters at the traffic circle aired their opposition
to the reelection of President Habibie.

A group of 150 students from the Indonesian Litigation Academy
also rallied at the traffic circle -- only to say that they
supported nobody for the president.

They were then replaced by some 200 students from Muhammadiyah
University, who suggested that the people should join hands to
uphold the nation's unity.

Other groups which rallied at the site included those from the
Action Forum for Caring the Nation (Facta) and the Indonesian
Students Board of Action (Damai).

While other students staged protests at different sites around
the city, dozens of students at Atma Jaya University were
involved in a brawl which left several of them injured.

In Tangerang, the security authorities have already started to
deploy their personnel at the approach roads to the capital to
watch out for any possible troublemakers wishing to enter.
(asa/bsr)