Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The country's main opposition party has denounced plans to topple the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono through street protests, saying the president must be allowed to see out his term.

Organizers of the protests, planned for Oct. 20 to mark Yudhoyono's one year in office following his re-election last year, have said they will use the occasion to call for the president to step down due to his alleged failed leadership. Similar street protests on a larger scale in 1998 led to the ouster of then President Suharto.

However, Puan Maharani, the chairwoman for political affairs at the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said her party was against such a move and respected Yudhoyono's mandate to rule for five years.

"We really hope this issue of ousting the president is dropped," Puan said on Friday. "Any attempt to topple the president impacts directly on the country's stability."

She added that instead of resorting to unconstitutional means, critics should take their grievances to the ballot box. "Let's wait until the next presidential election in 2014," said Puan, the daughter of PDI-P chairwoman and former President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Several organizations, including Petisi 28, which has been an outspoken critic of the government, have threatened to hold massive street demonstrations on Oct. 20.

A senior government official previously said any attempt to force the president out of office through street protests would be unconstitutional. The official warned the groups against trying to replicate the popular protests of 1998.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrian Pasha also said any attempt to oust Yudhoyono through the protests would be "crossing the line."

But Golkar Party's deputy treasurer Bambang Soesatyo criticized the government for overreacting. He said prohibiting citizens from voicing opposition was unconstitutional. He added the government's veiled accusations were similar to the tactics used by Suharto's authoritarian regime to crack down on dissent.

"All government officials must be prepared to face criticism," Bambang said. "What they shouldn't do is respond through a strong-arm policy that could result in repressive action," he added. "Please don't forbid the citizens from voicing out what they feel."

Bambang also criticized the government for being "too paranoid" about Petisi 28's motives, saying such a response "clearly reflects the government's shallow mind-set."

In an open democracy, he said, it was impossible to use repressive actions to force citizens to stay silent. "The president and his helpers seem to have run out of excuses for responding to public criticism, so now they're panicking and turning to the threat of repressive actions," he said.

Meanwhile, Anis Matta, a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, said the president should not fear a potential ouster, saying all the parties at the House backed his authority. "So there's no need to go all paranoid about it," said Anis, from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).