Tight security fails to deflate spirit of MPR street demos

JAKARTA (JP): The capital witnessed a number of protests with various themes on Monday, the day before the start of the four- day People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Special Session.

Most of the protesters who thronged the streets were against the session, while many others voiced their own agendas.

Only a few protesters, particularly those who arrived in small groups, were allowed past the tens of thousands of heavily armed police and military personnel and club-wielding civilians guarding the compound to submit their ideas to the MPR members.

About 50 members of the Indonesian Moslem Students Association (HMI) was the luckiest group of the rest when as they got to the Jakarta Convention Center on Jl. Gatot Subroto, about 700 meters from the MPR/DPR compound entrance gates.

Their sudden appearance stunned the personnel on duty, who were dispatched along the road from the Semanggi cloverleaf intersection, which is 1.5 kilometers from the complex, to block the route.

The penetration of the security cordon resulted in a marine being punched in the face by a superior.

With his gums bleeding, the marine stood to attention and took the pain while his superior rubbed his right fist.

"Learn from your mistakes!" said the superior, tapping his walkie-talkie on his subordinate's forehead.

The protests on Monday took place at various places.

Hundreds of students grouped in the Big Family of the University of Indonesia held a free speech forum at the university's campus in Depok in the morning before heading to the Proclamation Monument in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

The group expressed their strong rejection of the session, calling it a mere "clown show".

"We're consistent with our demands, which is the trial of (former president) Soeharto and the revocation of the Armed Forces' (ABRI) dual function," Adjie, one of the group's leaders, said.

From the eastern part of Jakarta, some 1,000 activists of the City Forum (Forkot) and other groups of students forced their way toward the MPR/DPR building on dozens of buses and other vehicles.

They were blocked on the toll road 200m from the Semanggi cloverleaf.

From the roof of the buses, the students sang reform songs and yelled at and mocked the security personnel, demanding the session be revoked.

Behind them, thousands of buses and cars were trapped in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam.

After about three hours the demonstrators dispersed peacefully.

Earlier, dozens of executives from different reform groups, grouped in the Indonesia's Professional Workers Forum, held a rally in front of the Jakarta Stock Exchange office on Jl. Sudirman in South Jakarta.

"We strongly reject the session based our recent poll that showed little public trust in the MPR members," said one of the group's leaders.

A minor clash occurred in front of Atma Jaya Catholic University on Jl. Sudirman when at least three trucks full of members of civilian security personnel, who strongly defend the holding of the session, passed the campus and provoked students who stood in front of their campus, waiting for buses.

One of the youths wearing a light green headband that read "No God but Almighty Allah" shouted at the students: "Don't get involved in politics, your main duty is on the campus, studying."

His words were answered with plastic bottles thrown by people standing on the side of the street.

In response, the other civilian security recruits got angry and took immediate revenge by throwing stones at the students.

Police and military personnel under the Semanggi cloverleaf rushed to the scene and ordered the trucks to leave the site.

In Central Jakarta, 1,000 students who were against the session staged a noisy rally on Jl. Diponegoro.

"People Unite! Reject the Special Session!" shouted the students, who grouped themselves in the Student Action Front for Reform and Democracy (Famred), Collective Forum (Forbes) and Committee of Students and People for Democracy (Komrad).

Abdullah, spokesman for Famred, told reporters that the government-sponsored session did not intend to implement reforms voiced by the students.

"There's no agenda to bring former president Soeharto to trial or to revoke MPR decree No. IV/ 1998 on Soeharto's appointment. He still holds power now," he said.

"Stop exploiting Moslems" and "Bring the Great General Soeharto to court" read some of the banners.

Students from the Parliament of Indonesian Students (Parmi) rallied at the Proclamation Monument, voicing their conditional support of the Special Session.

Ade Mohammad, Parmi's spokesman, said that should clashes or unrest occur during the Special Session, President B.J. Habibie, Minister of Defense and Security/ Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto and the legislators should take the responsibility.

"As a consequence, Parmi would open a street parliament," he said.

At least 12 students from STTI Indonesia Technology College were injured when hundreds of police officers dispersed a demonstration at the Supreme Court compound near the State Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara.

The students then went to the National Commission on Human Rights to complain about the incident. (emf/edt/jun/ivy)