Jakarta – In its sternest warning yet, the Indonesian government said Wednesday that protesters who threaten its existence could be sentenced to life imprisonment under a harsh anti-subversion law enacted by ex-President Suharto.

"Indonesia does not want to see its government overthrown by demonstrations and riots as happened in the past to the two regimes of President Sukarno and President Suharto," Justice Minister Muladi said after a five-hour Cabinet meeting with President B.J. Habibie. The marathon meeting was dominated by security concerns following a rise in anti-government protests.

Wednesday was the 33rd anniversary of an attempted communist coup against the government of Sukarno. The military, led by then Maj. Gen. Suharto, crushed the rebellion after six other generals were murdered. A storm of protest that followed led to Suharto taking power from Sukarno.

Suharto ruled for 32 authoritarian years until a wave of unrest forced him to quit in May this year amid the worst economic crisis in decades. Suharto enacted a tough anti-subversion law in 1973 and used it used repeatedly to stamp out dissent. His successor, Habibie has been plagued by a new wave of protest over soaring food prices and mass unemployment. Food shortages have triggered looting and lawlessness in some areas.

Muladi said the current sporadic unrest has not been strong enough to threaten the government, which has promised democratic reform. "But I have to warn protesters not to go much further. It might lead to a situation in which there is a systematic plan and movement to overthrow the government," he said.