Student rally turns violent, two injured and three missing
JAKARTA (JP): A rally by students demanding the dissolution of the former ruling Golkar Party turned violent on Monday when demonstrators clashed with police in front of the Ministry of Defense, leaving two students injured and three others missing.
The violence continued when the police chased the demonstrators, riding in minibuses, to Jl. Kyai Tapa in West Jakarta, according to student activist Masinton of the Indonesian Fighters Youth Forum (FPPI).
The students took shelter on the nearby campus of the College of Management and Computer Science. The demonstrators, helped by locals, then proceeded to search for vehicles belonging to the military and police, burning one police motorcycle.
West Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Iwan N. Ismet confirmed the destroyed motorcycle belonged to the West Jakarta Police, which deployed six motorcycle officers to Jl. Kyai Tapa.
"The students attacked one military officer who was walking on the street. The police fired tear gas to stop the action," Iwan told The Jakarta Post and Metro TV at his office.
"The students who were on the campus then ran out and attacked the police. One of the six motorcycle officers fell and the students burned his motorcycle," Iwan said.
A crowd of about 3,000 people gathered at the scene, creating a massive traffic jam and making the situation more chaotic, according to the officer.
To restore order and disperse the crowd, two companies of police officers, including 80 personnel from the West Jakarta Police, were deployed to the scene. By 6:30 p.m. the situation had returned to normal.
Iwan said no arrests were made, but he vowed to investigate the incident to discover who was responsible for the attacks on the officers.
The demonstration began peacefully when hundreds of students in 15 minibuses arrived in front of the House of Representatives in Central Jakarta at about noon.
The demonstrators came from FPPI, the Jakarta Student Association, the City Front (Forkot), the Trisakti Student Action Forum and the Pancasila Student Movement for Reform.
The students demanded the dissolution of the Golkar Party and the establishment of a tribunal for Indonesian generals suspected of committing human rights violations.
The students left the House for the Ministry of Defense at about 2:30 p.m.
The demonstrators, barred from entering the ministry, held a free speech forum on the street in front of the ministry. As the students were preparing to depart, two trucks transporting police officers passed the scene.
"We became involved in a war of words. The police got angry and started hitting the windows of our busses, injuring two students," Masinton said.
He identified the injured students as Andi Baylo and Rizal, both students of Trisakti University. They were taken to Pertamina General Hospital in Cempaka Putih, East Jakarta, for treatment.
When the police fired tear gas, the students got onto the minibuses and fled along Jl. Harmony to Jl. Roxy and then to Jl. Kyai Tapa, with the police pursuing them.
"We were angry so, with the help of locals who sympathized with us, we started to search for military and police vehicles passing along the street," Masinton said, admitting that the students were responsible for burning the police motorcycle.
Masinton said three students went missing in the melee. He identified the three as Agung of Satyanegara University and Nabil and Doly of Trisakti University. (02)