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)