Jakarta – More than 3,000 students rallied near parliament Wednesday to demand Indonesian President B.J. Habibie resign and hand over power to a transitional government free from Suharto-era officials.

The students, who were stopped from approaching the parliament's gate by a cordon of 200 armed soldiers and riot police, also called on the people to reject the plan to hold a special session of the country's highest legislative body. Under the plan, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) is due to meet on November 11-20 to prepare for fresh parliamentary elections in May.

Hundreds of soldiers and policemen formed a cordon inside the grounds of parliament. Lieutenant Colonel S. Widodo of the Central Jakarta district police said that about 800 soldiers were deployed to back up police forces there.

"Form a democratic transitional government," read one poster. Others read "Reject, Reject, Reject the special session," "Bring Suharto to trial, eradicate the (Suharto's) New Order."

Many of the protestors, who were from the United People's Action which groups 10 student organisations, also wore T-shirts reading "Total Reforms, No Suharto, No Habibie and No Corruption-Collusion-Nepotism." The road in front of parliament was closed to traffic and at least two armoured vehicles carrying water cannons were on standby.

The demonstrators pushed down a high wire fence which separated a tollroad from the road passing in front of the parliament. The security forces later allowed the students to gather in front of the parliament for about 20 minutes before they were asked to disperse. No other incidents were reported.

Another rally, involving hundreds of students and several reform leaders and held to reject the special session, was also staged at the two campuses of the state Universitas Indonesia – in Central and South Jakarta. Some 400 pro-reform activists gathered at the Central Jakarta city campus where they called for a more sensitive government.

Sri Bintang Pamungkas, chairman of the newly formed Indonesian Uni-Democracy Party, said Habibie's presidency was illegitimate since power was handed over to him by Suharto. "Habibie who is part of the Suharto regime, should not be in the current government and he should definitely not be allowed to claim (to be carrying out) reforms," Pamungkas said. "It is impossible for someone who is corrupt to eradicate corruption," he added.

In Bandung, a university town some 200 kilometres (124 miles) southeast of here, some 800 students staged a similar rally in front of the provincial parliament there, an AFP photographer there said.

Chanting "Habibie resign," and "Hang Suharto", the demonstrators also brought down two huge pro-Habibie banners adorning the building, tore them and set them on fire. "We, the United People's Action, deem it important, even a pressing need, to return the people's sovereignty by a more democratic transition, that is, through a collective government free of the New Order regime," a statement issued by the protestors in Jakarta said.

It said the government was allowing issues to develop and split the nation while it neglected its main task – resolving the economic crisis, upholding the law, and demanding the accountability of the Suharto regime for its past rule and violations. "Both the Suharto and Habibie regimes have failed to resolve the problems of the people but on the contrary have only prompted disunity," the statement said.

It cited the mysterious murders in East Java, comments by a minister deemed discriminatory against a certain religion, the prevailing controversy about whether mass rape had taken place duing a string of riots in May, as among the issues splitting the nation. It also cited the government's tendency of slapping communist, leftwing and anarchist labels on pro-democracy movements and the suspected tendency by authorities to organise pro-government rallies to offset anti-government ones.

[On October 28 the Wall Street Journal reported that the demonstrations had lead to lower share prices with the Jakarta Stock Exchange composite index loosing 5.811 to 312.290. Traders said the situation also forced the Rupiah to trade lower against the US dollar which dropped to 7,675 - James Balowski.]