On the fourth day of the annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) demonstrations were held by a number of organisations and students. As well as the student demonstrations which were demanding the abolition of the military seats in the parliament and for Suharto to be tried, other actions held yesterday's were supportive of issues being dealt with by the assembly.

Around 50 students from a number of campuses in Jakarta, grouped under the Islamic Student Front (Front Mahasiswa Islam, FMI) were supporting amendments to Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution [which would stipulate the implementation of the Islamic Law for Muslims - JB]. Representatives of the Preparation Committee for the Application of Islamic Law (Komite Persiapan Penegakan Syariat Islam, KPPSI) were received by representatives from the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP) fractions. H Noer Namry Noor and Chairul Anwar Lubis from PPP supported their cause while Idrus Marhan from Golkar said he would pass their suggestions to his fraction.

The last group to arrive were from the Independent Alliance of Students and Society (Aliansi Mahasiswa dan Masyarakat Independen). Also demonstrating was the National Student League for Democracy (Liga Mahasiswa Nasional untuk Demokrasi, LMND) and the Jakarta-wide campus based Independent Electra Monitoring Committee (Komite Independen Pemantau Pemilu, KIPP).

One of the banners supported President Abdurrahman Wahid's plan to carry out a cabinet reshuffle but called for it to be composed of independent members.

LMND and KIPP were calling for the abolition of the dual (social and political) role of the military and police and for the abolition of the military and police seats in the people's representative institutions. According to one of the KIPP activists, Dadi Achmad Zen, as well as the demonstration at the MPR building, KIPP organised demonstrations were also being held at four other locations; the Hilton Hotel, the Mulia Hotel, the Indonesia Bundaran Hotel and Semanggi. Demands for the abolition of military and police seats in the MPR was also called for by the Jakarta chapter of the Islamic Student's Association.

LMND was protesting against the annual MPR session itself which they accused of doing little more than playing power games and that it had forgotten the ordinary people. They also demanded the removal of Golkar members from the MPR and for the government to arrest, try and seize the assets of former president Suharto and his cronies. This demand was made before some 200 students from a number of joint actions held at Suharto's residence in Cendana Street and at the Golkar offices in Cikini, Central Jakarta.

[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski]