Students clash with soldiers

JAKARTA (JP): Fourteen people were injured -- some critically -- when security personnel clashed with students protesting the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly on Wednesday.

The injured consisted of nine military personnel, three photographers and two student protesters.

Protests took place in several spots in the city. The largest one occurred on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta, where students gathered on their way to the Assembly building on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta. Many of them were among those who stayed overnight in Proclamation Monument park in Central Jakarta on Tuesday night.

The worst incident occurred on Jl. Imam Bonjol shortly after 4 p.m., when a VW Safari car -- reportedly driven by Anas Allamoedi from the University of Indonesia's Law School -- ran through a cordon of troops set up to prevent student protesters from marching on toward the Assembly building.

Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna, the chief of the Central Jakarta police precinct, said the nine injured military personnel were now being treated at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital. The worst hurt were Capt. Eko N.H., the chief of Menteng subdistrict military command, and platoon commander Second Lt. Paryono, who suffered a broken arm and foot and head injuries.

The car reportedly sped off toward the Semanggi Cloverleaf, but was stopped before it got far. Anas and his passenger, identified as Amarullah, are now in city police custody.

Anas' mother said her son had admitted to hitting two soldiers accidentally after trying to move away from troops who were smashing up his car.

Mrs. Allamoedi said three lawyers from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation had stated their readiness to represent Anas, whom she said was "in good health."

In the melee that erupted immediately after the incident, two students were injured after being beaten by security personnel. Novianti and Tuti are now being treated at St. Carolus Hospital in Central Jakarta. No further details were available about the two girls.

Antara photographer Saptono, who was trying to take pictures minutes after the incident, was set upon and beaten up by a number of troops. He suffered severe injuries to his head and arms and is now being treated at St. Carolus Hospital.

The other journalists beaten up by troops were Eddy Hasbi of Kompas daily and Tatan Agus of Gatra weekly, both of whom suffered only light injuries.

However, The Association of Indonesian Photo Journalists said two more photographers -- Robinsar Opak of Sinar weekly and Teguh Indra of Tekad tabloid -- were also beaten.

Kijang van

Separate reports said that half an hour earlier in the Pancoran area of South Jakarta, two students -- Widodo of Veteran University and Muhammad Ali of Veteran Engineering College -- were hit by a Kijang van driven by a riot police officer identified as Slamet Haryono.

Students then vandalized the van and stripped Slamet off his uniform. No details were available of the officer's fate thereafter.

Although most students were concentrated on Jl. Imam Bonjol, others tried to approach the Assembly building from different directions. Ten bus loads of students from an engineering school and Borobudur University in East Jakarta were intercepted in Pancoran and turned back to Cawang by security personnel.

Six other buses full of activists from Forum Kota -- a loose association of students from 36 universities across Greater Jakarta -- took a route through Jl. Hang Tuah near Blok M in South Jakarta. They too were intercepted and were forced to turn back.

On the flyover near the Jakarta Convention Center, around 200 student protesters were prevented from reaching the nearby Assembly building by 200 marines.

Achmad Hadi, a member of the Communication Forum for Jakarta Student Senates which has been organizing student protests, said that students had gathered at various points in the city but had all failed to reach the Assembly building due to the tight security in place.

"It appears to us that the People's Consultative Assembly does not want to heed people's aspirations," he charged.

Meanwhile, the city police last night announced the closure of the toll road and Jl. Gatot Subroto roads between Semanggi cloverleaf and Slipi intersection -- where the Assembly compound is situated -- effective from 6 a.m. on Thursday.

City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang did not say for how long the normally busy roads would remain closed.

All traffic will be diverted.

Aritonang denied the move was due to the MPR's ongoing session. "It's not because of the session but because of the dynamic developments in the society of today," he told a media conference. (team)