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Student protest in Indonesia turns violent

Source
Associated Press - March 19, 1998 (abridged)

Jakarta – Police used tear gas, clubs and high-pressure water hoses to subdue thousands of stone-throwing student protesters today. At least 60 people were detained in the most violent of the anti-government demonstrations that began erupting on campuses weeks ago.

Organizers of the demonstration at Lampung University in Bandarlampung on Sumatra island said police also fired warning shots at the protesters. Authorities disputed that account, saying shots were fired but not by officers.

The protest turned violent when some of the several thousand students began throwing stones. As in the many other campus protests around Indonesia in recent weeks, the students were demanding the resignation of President Suharto, whom they hold responsible for the collapse of the Indonesian currency, which has caused prices to soar.

Hundreds of anti-riot police stormed the campus, firing at least two warning shots and three volleys of tear gas, said Mahendra Utama, a law student.

Officers with sticks beat dozens of protesters, many of them women, Utama said. Fire trucks were used to turn high-pressure water hoses on the protesters.

Police Col. Gendro Budi Santoso said 60 people were detained for questioning. Police are investigating reports that shots were fired, he told The Associated Press by telephone from Bandarlampung, 220 miles northwest of Jakarta.

Several thousand students staged peaceful anti-government rallies today on at least three campuses in Jakarta and at a university in the city of Bandung, 75 miles east of the capital.

On Bali Island, a total of 1,300 students demonstrated at two universities against Suharto's new Cabinet, which includes a close business partner and his eldest daughter.

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