Jakarta – Soldiers and police deployed around Jakarta's central Merdeka square Monday halted a student demonstration to protest the military's role in political life.

The security forces, involving armed soldiers, prevented two buses carrying student protestors from heading towards the national military headquarters on the western side of the huge central Merdeka Square and made them turn into the southern avenue of the square.

One bus managed to stop shortly afterwards and drop off students while another only managed to empty about half of the students as the military, beating the students and the bus with sticks ordered the bus to move. The some 80 soldiers who were later joined by about an equal number of police, set up a cordon barring the protestors from moving away from the place where they left their buses.

The students, carrying banners and posters protesting the military's role in the country's socio-political affairs, sat on the middle of the road and began to set up a free speech forum under the glare of the security.

Under Indonesian law, the military are accorded a role in socio-political affairs besides of its more traditional role in defence. There has been mounting pressure for the military to scale down its non-defence role. The non-defence role has translated into active and retired officers holding key posts in the government, the legislature, the judiciary and in socio-political organisations.