Two injured in rally near Soeharto's home

Two injured in rally near Soeharto's home

JAKARTA (JP): Students from pro- and anti-Soeharto groups met
in another face-to-face confrontation near the former president's
residence in Central Jakarta on Thursday, leaving at least two
anti-Soeharto protesters injured by the police.

The presence of the two rival groups at the site left local
residents in the plush Menteng area nervous.

While members of the pro-Soeharto group had already left the
scene by late afternoon, many of the opposing group stayed in the
area, yelling and pelting stones at the police.

At around 7 p.m., an unidentified group of some 20 people
carrying bamboo sticks arrived on the scene.

Witnesses said the two parties then threw stones at each other
from a distance.

A few warning shots were fired in the air by police to stop
the two groups from engaging in further clashes.

The anti-Soeharto protesters only dispersed at around 10 p.m.

Thursday's rally started at noon when about 600 protesters,
who claimed to be from the Betawi Youth Communication Forum and
the United Islamic Organizations' Association (Goib), arrived in
27 minibuses at the intersection of Jl. Teuku Umar and Jl.
Suwiryo, about 500 meters from Soeharto's residence.

The group were carrying banners, two of which read "We can't
accept if Bapak H.M. Soeharto, the eradicator of communism in
Indonesia, is tried during his illness" and "Oh God, heal Pak
Harto from his illness".

Coordinator of the rally, H. Andi M. Sholeh, said that the
rally was only meant to be a mass prayer meeting, which they
eventually failed to hold.

"We just want to pray for the recovery of Pak Harto," Andi
told The Jakarta Post.

He added that he was unaware that the students were going to
stage an anti-Soeharto rally in the area.

"We didn't know they were coming," Andi said.

During a friendly chat with some reporters, a member of the
group, who claimed to have just graduated from high school, said
that he was paid Rp 20,000 to participate in the rally.

"The coordinator of the rally has not paid me yet but I
personally know him," the young man said.

However, when two of his co-demonstrators heard him speaking
to reporters about the payment, one of them angrily shouted,
"Idiot!"

At about 4:30 p.m., the anti-Soeharto group which consisted of
more than a thousand demonstrators, including members of the City
Forum (Forkot) and the City Network (Jarkot), entered Jl. Teuku
Umar from Surapati park on Jl. Diponegoro.

The demonstrators, who were mostly university students, were
carrying bamboo sticks and molotov cocktails.

Hundreds of police personnel were immediately dispatched to
the scene to prevent the group from entering Jl. Suwiryo.

Some members of the pro-Soeharto group, assembled behind the
police blockade, were seen leaving the area.

One of those who fled the scene said, "I will not fight those
people for Rp 20,000."

The anti-Soeharto group stopped about two hundred meters from
the police cordon. However, dozens of the students started to
move forward and throw rocks and molotov cocktails at the police.

As the students moved closer, the police launched a counter-
charge and fired tear gas. Gunshots were also heard several
times.

The police chased the students to Jl. Diponegoro, about 500
meters from Jl. Suwiryo, where the students continued to throw
rocks and molotov cocktails.

Some of the students also threw rocks at reporters while
yelling at them. (jaw)