Student finally gather at MPR gates
Student finally gather at MPR gates
JAKARTA (JP): The area around the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) building became a public gathering site as thousands of people joined students in front of the gates.
Starting Saturday morning, following the burial of their colleagues shot on Friday, students held rallies in several areas of the city. Coming from dozens of campuses in Greater Jakarta and outside of the city, the students finally made it to the gates of the Assembly building after failing to do so during the last several days.
The situation was much less tense than Friday. The gathering lasted to 11 p.m. after it was announced there was a night curfew. Actually Governor Sutiyoso had only appealed that people not leave homes after 10 p.m.
Beginning around 2 p.m. the streets and toll roads around Jl. Gatot Subroto, which was closed earlier, were thronged with people proceeding slowly towards the legislative building.
Students atop vehicles led the crowd in the singing of patriotic songs, while the Marines stopped the procession at various intervals. The Marines urged the students to stay in one group, while also reminding each another to keep their uniform jackets on, in order to enable the easy identification of one another in the masses.
Poetry readings and speeches demanding an end to the Armed Forces representation in the legislative bodies were held at the gates of the MPR building. The students expressed anger over the failure of the Special Session, which ended on Friday, to reject a draft decree justifying the representation of the military in the MPR.
As of late Friday, 12 people had died during clashes between protesters and security personnel, and dozens of others were injured. A few police officers also sustained heavy injuries when they were attacked by crowds on Saturday.
Students demanded the resignation of Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Chief Gen. Wiranto.
"Wiranto simply must resign," protesters said.
Some students repeated appeals for non-violence, while as of late Saturday the remaining students and crowds in front of the MPR seemed intent on breaking down the gates. Around 8:15 p.m., a large number of students, mainly from the Communication Forum of Jakarta Student Senates, began to leave the area, and by 10 p.m. even more had left.
Authorities had refused to let the students enter the MPR building. "The crowds far outnumber the students," an officer said, fearing that the students and security personnel would not be able to contain the thousands of people mingling with the students. "We have instructions that the buildings are closed for the time being, so please go home," another officer said.
Security forces of various units guarded the compound and all of the roads leading toward the location. Barbed wire, which appeared to be electrified, was seen along the gates behind the buildings.
Even though the Special Session, held from Nov. 10 through Nov. 13, had already ended, the students said that they still needed to occupy the building to hold a "people's session". A similar event was held during the session at the Proclamation Monument. The flyover near the Assembly building on Saturday was packed with onlookers who joined in the singing and clapping.
The gathering was also addressed by various politicians, including Sri Bintang Pamungkas.
Some tension marked the rallies, as people expressed anger at the Armed Forces, except for the Marines. Riot police and the Army Strategic Command (Kostrad) personnel were targets of the people's anger. Shouts of "Kostrad PKI" (Kostrad are communists) were heard, after which the Kostrad personnel withdrew from Jl. Gatot Subroto. The Police and Kostrad were the forces which fired on the protesters during the Friday rallies.
Meanwhile shouts of "Hidup Marinir" (Long live the Marines) were heard from students and other people. The Marines were offered refreshments because, since last May's occupation of the legislature, they have been considered much more sympathetic toward the students.
Around 7 p.m., at the Bank Negara Indonesia building, across the street from the legislative compound, crowds demanded that the 80 or so Kostrad troops who were posted at the building's front compound leave the area.
Half of the troops left the area in a truck at around 5:30 p.m., while eight students and three Marines clung to the truck's doors and sat on its roof to protect them from the belligerent crowds. As the truck left the bank's compound, crowds threw stones and a Molotov cocktail toward the truck.
The rest of the troops, seeing the crowds' reactions, hid behind the building instead. (ivy/edt/das/anr)