Students demonstrate near Presidential Palace
JAKARTA (JP): About 1,000 student demonstrators staged a noisy but peaceful rally near the Presidential Palace on Thursday, demanding President B.J. Habibie's government lower staple food prices and try former president Soeharto.
The protesters were from 25 universities in the greater Jakarta area grouped in the Communication Forum of Jakarta's Student Senate (FKSMJ).
Assembling in the northern part of the National Monument (Monas) Square in Central Jakarta, the students began the protest at about 11 a.m. They chanted: "People will win" and "Hungry, hungry, hungry".
Banner messages included: "People don't need political parties, people need food" and "Mr. Habibie, people are dying".
A force of at least 1,000 personnel from the military, police and marines were abruptly dispatched to the scene to prevent the protesters from crossing Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara toward the palace.
Armed with shields and rattan sticks, the troops formed a human barricade on the street median to block the students opposite the Supreme Court building, which is adjacent to the palace compound.
Habibie's office is located in the compound and he remained inside during the rally.
Traffic was detoured from part of Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, causing massive congestion in the area for hours.
Dominated by a free speech forum, the rally ended at about 2:30 p.m. A 10-minute downpour had failed to disperse the crowd.
A spokesman for the group, Ahmad Alawi, said Habibie had proven incapable of solving the economic crisis after more than 100 days in office.
"Habibie cannot lead this nation. Look, the prices of staple food are continually increasing. People are facing starvation."
Alawi would not state whether the students had intended to reach the palace compound, only saying: "We just want to deliver speeches here."
Central Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna, who was on the scene, said security officers would only tolerate the protesters remaining in the Monas area, but would be prepared to "face" them if they insisted on moving closer to the palace.
"They should know the area is off-limits to any demonstrations as we have state symbols around here."
The past week has recorded a resurgence in student demonstrations since Soeharto resigned from the presidency on May 21. Another group of about 1,000 students broke down the gates to the House of Representatives compound on Monday. Five students were injured, including two who sustained serious injuries, when security personnel forcibly evicted them early the next morning.
The students staged the rally on Thursday despite an appeal by Armed Forces Chief Gen. Wiranto. On Tuesday, he asked students to cease street protests because they could detract from the people's growing sense of security and deplete international confidence in the country.
Shortly after security personnel rounded up the students to disperse on Thursday, about 50 students identifying themselves from the Student Movement for Reform (Geram) held another rally in front of the Supreme Court building, demanding that Chief Justice Sarwata resign.
The students were quickly involved in tense negotiations with police officers.
Similar demands for reductions in staple food prices and Habibie's resignation were echoed by students in the Central Java capital of Semarang.
At least 500 students of the Soegiyopranoto Catholic University rallied at the provincial council office, urging the government to form an independent committee to monitor the price and distribution of basic commodities.
The students continued the protest by marching around the city and invited passersby to join in.
In the East Java capital of Surabaya, the Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) strongly protested the military treatment of students who staged a protest when Habibie visited the city on Wednesday.
At least 25 people, including journalists, were injured in the clash and four of them testified before the foundation on Thursday.
Foundation member Ma'ruf said a report on the military's use of violence had already been submitted to the Armed Forces. (ivy/emf/jun/nur/har)