Rallies held with different themes
JAKARTA (JP): Jakartans saw at least three rallies, each of which had a different theme, in the capital on Thursday.
But, they had one thing in common: they were all protesting President Abdurrahman Wahid's erratic personal behavior and political stances.
The rallies, however, did not cause any traffic congestion and all of the participants dispersed peacefully after staging their protests.
The first rally began at around 9 a.m. when dozens of students from the Jakarta State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) staged a protest in front of the Merdeka Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara in Central Jakarta. They accused President Abdurrahman Wahid of having failed to govern the country well.
In a statement made available to the press, the students stated that Abdurrahman had taken the country further away from the goal of reform and was now following in the footsteps of the New Order regime under then president Soeharto.
"While the country is in the middle of a crisis, Abdurrahman's priority is to put his closest aides in the government, exactly as Soeharto did during his tenure," the statement said.
The students also accused Abdurrahman of encouraging people to demand independence and separation from Indonesia, by offering a referendum to the people of Aceh and financing the Papuan People's Congress earlier this year.
After staging their protest in front of the palace for almost two hours, the students eventually dispersed peacefully.
Meanwhile, hundreds of students from various universities in Jakarta staged a protest at the House of Representatives (DPR) compound on Thursday, demanding that Abdurrahman resign from his leading position in the Shimon Peres Foundation.
The students, who came from Muhammadiyah University, the Bung Karno University, the National University and the Ibnu Chaldun University, also demanded that the House be firmer in condemning Israel's recent attacks on the Palestinians.
"We demand that Gus Dur quit the Shimon Peres Foundation because it is a Jewish agency which has helped in the attacks on the Palestinians," spokesman for the protesters Naufal Dunggio said, while referring to the president by his nickname.
The students also called on the six-day 104th conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) here to issue a resolution condemning Israel.
The students dispersed after failing to enter the venue of the IPU meeting at the Jakarta Convention Center, which is located near the House compound.
Another student rally was held later in the afternoon in front of the Merdeka Palace, urging Abdurrahman to stop making compromises with the New Order regime and to eject the military from the House.
Dozens of students from Trisakti University, Gunadarma University, and the National Institute of Science and Technology accused the Abdurrahman administration of being closely connected to the New Order regime and the military.
After a half an hour of speeches, the students then left the scene peacefully. (07/dja)