Rally turns riot near Mega's residence
Rally turns riot near Mega's residence
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Protests against utility price hikes continued on Saturday with a
new twist, despite a government decision to review the hikes and
to postpone an increase in telephone rates.
Hundreds of students clashed with police just a few hundred
meters away from the residence of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri on Saturday as the protesters moved their
demonstrations from the Merdeka Palace to the president's
residence.
At least one student was injured in the scuffles that ensued
which took place after the protesters tried to break through the
police's human barricade to reach Megawati's residence in
Menteng, Central Jakarta.
"This house is confiscated," said a large sign the students
wanted to post in front of Megawati's residence on Jl. Teuku
Umar.
According to the students, the sign symbolized the people's
anger and disappointment over Megawati's unjust policies --
raising utility price hikes while setting free tycoons unwilling
to pay back state money and corrupt officials in her
administration.
The students wanted to place the sign at the President's gate
but police prevented them from reaching the house.
"We forbid you (from posting the sign at the President's
house) as it is against the law," said Central Jakarta police
chief Commr. Edmon Ilyas, but he failed to explain exactly which
law it would violate, further drawing the ire of the protesters.
"For the sake of 'the law' police forbabe us from getting
close to our own President's house. Which law? Is it the same law
that allows wicked tycoons and corrupt officials to run free?
This is injustice!" yelled Rico Marbun, chairman of University of
Indonesia's Students Executive Council (BEM UI), in front of
hundreds of students.
The protesters dispersed after burning a tire to vent out
their rage.
The government raised fuel prices by up to 22 percent on Jan.
2 in an attempt to reduce costly fuel subsidies and contain its
budget deficit as demanded by foreign lenders. Electricity
charges also went up by a further 6 percent at the start of the
year, with further quarterly hikes expected.
Meanwhile in Aceh, dozens of students from the Syiah Kuala
University in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, took to the
streets to protest the increases.
They accused Megawati and Vice President Hamzah Haz of siding
with crooked tycoons and corrupt officials, and not ordinary
people.
In Semarang, Central Java, over 100 students from the Sultan
Agung Islamic University (Unisula) and Walisongo State Islamic
University also held a rowdy two-hour protest against the
government causing heavy traffic jams along the North Coastal
road of Java.
The students also burned tires, creating panic among motorists
plying the Semarang-Demak route.