Streets deserted after two days of clashes

JAKARTA (JP): The capital's major thoroughfares were virtually deserted on Saturday following two days of violent clashes between anti-Habibie protesters and security personnel.

Few vehicles were seen on Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Gatot Subroto, located near the People's Consultative Assembly in Central Jakarta and the site of the worst of the protests.

The remains of public facilities destroyed by mobs during the protests were scattered on the roads, evidence of the violence of the protests.

The Hotel Indonesia traffic circle -- a popular destination for demonstrators -- filled up on Saturday afternoon with groups of people, the majority of whom came to voice support for Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Megawati is one of the front-runners for Wednesday's presidential election.

However, the demonstrators numbered in the hundreds, a significant decrease from the massive crowds which gathered at the location in previous days.

Most of the protesters expressed disapproval of President B.J. Habibie and called for him to drop his bid for a second term.

One of the groups occupied part of the traffic circle and blocked the street for about one hour while they staged a free- speech forum, leaving hundreds of cars trapped in traffic.

Thirty members of the Tangerang Residents Forum for Reform called on all political parties to stop playing "dirty games" to further their own interests.

Another group of demonstrators released balloons and pigeons into the sky in the most colorful display of the day.

The protesters, most of whom arrived in private and public minibuses, dispersed after a heavy rain began to fall in the late afternoon.

However, some of the protesters promised to return on Sunday in greater numbers.

A few kilometers south of the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, some 300 students and local residents stopped passing vehicles in front of Atma Jaya University to check for security personnel at around 3 p.m.

"We are checking to see if military or police officers are hidden somewhere on the buses," said a student who requested anonymity.

The group stopped at least 30 buses near the Semanggi flyover.

During the violent clashes on Thursday and Friday, the police arrested a total of 73 people believed to be provocateurs.

"Eighty percent of them have admitted to being provocateurs, and said they were paid between Rp 20,000 and Rp 30,000 by unidentified people," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar Sianipar said on Friday.

One of those arrested, Vidy Sapt, told a different story. "I was forced by the students in front of Atma Jaya to join their rally. They said they would kill me if I disobeyed their order."

Another person arrested by police, noted psychic Ki Gendeng Pamungkas, denied he was a provocateur.

"I was not at the (Friday) protest to provoke, but to put flowers and light incense around the site, such as beneath the Semanggi cloverleaf, because I felt that chaos was going to occur there," Gendeng said at city police headquarters on Saturday.

He claimed that he was tortured by members of the National Police's elite Mobile Brigade.

"There was this one captain who first screamed at me: 'Fake paranormal! Faker! Catch him!' Then... one by one, the police officers came after me and beat me up. It was awful," Gendeng said.

Separately, first class Sgt. I Made Pudja, who suffered severe head injuries during the clashes on Friday after being run over by a PPD bus carrying protesters, passed away on Saturday, city police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said.

Some 170 protesters and security personnel were injured during the two days of clashes. (bsr/ylt)