Three students wounded in clash near Mega's house

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Three students were injured when thousands of student protesters clashed with police about 300 meters away from President Megawati Soekarnoputri's official residence on Jl. Teuku Umar in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Thursday.

The clash occurred when the students, coming from the Greater Jakarta Students Executive Council (BEM), forced their way toward the President's residence, prompting police to beat them back.

At least three student protesters were injured in the clash, identified as Teguh from Jakarta State University (UNJ), Lukman Hakim from Mercu Buana University (UMB), and also Lukman Hakim from HAMKA University (UHAMKA).

Teguh sustained an injury on his forehead, Lukman Hakim from UMB on his mouth, and Lukman Hakim from UHAMKA on his torso.

Police brought the three to a police ambulance that was standing by at the scene for treatment.

Police also arrested one student identified as Didit Kusnadi from Bhayangkara University, two activists, and one police intelligence officer. The two activists were identified as Budidharma from non-governmental organization Formasi, and Masyudi from an organization called MAPPAN.

The undercover police officer, whose identity was not disclosed, was released shortly after his arrest.

It was not immediately known if the two activists were also released.

The student protesters started gathering at Taman Suropati in Central Jakarta, a park located about 700 meters away from Megawati's residence. At around 3 p.m., they moved toward Jl. Teuku Umar, but were stopped around 300 meters from the president's home.

The students demanded that the government cancel the utility price hikes introduced in January.

The protesters also accused Megawati of failing to combat corruption. They called for a halt to foreign loans, which they said were placing undue burdens on the country, and to the sale of state-owned companies to foreigners.

"We are taking to the streets because none of the people's demands has been met by the government," Rico Marbun was quoted by AFP as saying.

He also said the students would continue staging street rallies until Megawati fulfilled their demands or stepped down from the presidency for failing to run the country.

Anti-government protests began after the government raised fuel prices and utility charges on Jan. 1. They have continued, despite the decision to scale down the rises.

Meanwhile, the government is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, which is coordinating a US$4.8 billion economic recovery program, to cut its huge fuel subsidy bill to reduce its budget deficit.

Some officials have said that political opponents are using the protests against the price rises as a pretext to overthrow the government, while student groups have denied that politicians are piggybacking on their protests.