We all know Indonesia is in a real mess but how will events unfold? As long as Suharto goes I'll be happy
JAKARTA, May 8 (Reuters) - Students staged a mock trial of President Suharto in Jakarta, condemned him to death and burned him in effigy on Friday, ignoring a call from Indonesia's powerful military chief to halt their protests.
Demonstrators in the north Sumatra city of Medan, the scene of violent student protests for reform and riots over fuel and electricity price rises, denounced Suharto as the "Son of Satan" and demanded he be put on real trial.
A chorus of reform demands from establishment organisations grew louder with church leaders representing more than 10 million Protestants throwing their support behind the student protests. Earlier in the week a leading Moslem intellectual organisation urged wide-ranging reform.
Armed forces chief General Wiranto said on Thursday that after nearly three months of protests students had got their message across and reforms were now on the national agenda. They could now do something more useful than protesting, he said.
But there was no immediate sign that Wiranto had stemmed a tide of protest which has grown louder and more prone to violence as the pain from Indonesia's worst economic crisis in decades worsens.
Students in Medan, scene of the most bitter confrontations in the demonstrations, marched through their campus chanting "Suharto is the son of Satan". One banner read: "Fire Suharto and prosecute him".
The University of North Sumatra in Medan was re-opening after being shut in late April after days of confrontations between students throwing stones and petrol bombs and security forces firing tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons.
But the student protesters remained within the campus. They said they did not want trouble after rioting racked the city earlier in the week. Medan's Waspada newspaper said seven people had been killed in the riots but Wiranto said none had died.
In Jakarta, students at the Teachers Training Institute held a mock trial of Suharto, condemning him to death and burning his effigy. They accused him of enriching his family and friends at the expense of the people.
In Surabaya, 2,000 motorcyclists paraded in a convoy demanding reform and students from 32 universities planned a joint demonstration. And on the island of Borneo, some 3,000 students marched through the streets of Samarinda to the provincial parliament building, escorted by security forces.
The student protests began in February and quickly turned into demands that Suharto quit to take responsibility for the economic crisis which has triggered widescale job losses and seen the local currency, the rupiah, lost some 70 percent of its value against the dollar.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Indonesia's main Protestant organisation said it was behind the reform movement.
"The Communion of Churches in Indonesia supports the reform movement that is being voiced by students and other groups in the society, and encourages all members of society to actively support this movement," it said.
The government and the army say they support gradual reform. Harmoko, parliamentary speaker and chairman of the ruling Golkar party, said earlier this week that parliament would act quickly to reform political laws. Suharto has also been quoted as being in favour of reforms.
But this has not mollified student protesters, and the Association of Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI), usually regarded as an establishment organisation, said on Wednesday government promises of some reforms were "vague, too little and too late".
The United States and Australia urged restraint in dealing with social unrest. "It is very important that Indonesia, both at the level of the government and particularly the armed forces and the police, act with a maximum of restraint," Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said.
Riot-scarred Medan was quiet after three days of widespread looting and arson was ended by a major show of force by the army, although groups of people still roam the streets at night, only to vanish when soldiers arrive.
Early on Friday, residents of the town of Pematangsiantar, 120 km (80 miles) south of Medan, reported overnight trouble with dozens of shops looted and some vehicles burned.
The Waspada newspaper reported that two people were killed in recent unrest in Tanjung Morawa, 20 km (12 miles) south of Medan. The paper said that brought the total number of deaths in the Medan-area violence to nine. Scores of people have been hurt.
Indonesian financial markets were calmer after being battered earlier in the week by concerns about the Medan riots. The rupiah was steady and shares were only modestly weaker. But traders said markets could be hit again if unrest persisted.
"It's now the socio-political dimension which dictates the market," said a dealer at a Jakarta bank. |
