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Thousands of students rampage

Source
South China Morning Post - September 24, 1999

Vaudine England, Jakarta – At least three people were killed and more than 50 others injured in another bloody clash between security forces and at least 10,000 Indonesian demonstrators yesterday protesting against a new law giving the armed forces sweeping emergency powers.

Riot police and soldiers continued to fire shots and tear-gas canisters last night in a bid to stop demonstrations which degenerated into violence hours after the country's lawmakers enacted the controversial security bill.

At least three people were killed and their bodies were brought to the Mintohardjo Navy hospital, while dozens of injured demonstrators were treated at various hospitals in the capital city, hospital officials said.

A total of 53 people were injured, the SCTV network reported. At least four were rushed to hospital with bullet wounds, while other bloodstained protesters were taken to a makeshift clinic at nearby Atma Jaya University.

Thousands of university students rampaged in more than half a dozen Indonesian cities in the biggest anti-government protest since President Bacharuddin Habibie rose to power in May last year after his predecessor, authoritarian former president Suharto, was forced to step down.

Witnesses said as many as 50 people, nearly all of them protesters, were injured in the clashes when police fired tear-gas and plastic bullets at the crowds. The students fought back with rocks and Molotov cocktails.

Police fired rubber bullets and beat students with clubs in two Jakarta protests, injuring dozens of demonstrators.

About 6,000 students and their supporters, many carrying sticks, clashed with police outside Parliament, starting early in the afternoon and going into the evening.

National lawmakers had passed the military security bill just hours earlier, triggering fresh violence. The law gives authority to the President to declare a state of emergency in a province, if this is requested by the provincial legislature and governor.

Its opponents argue the law gives the military and the Government even more power to crush dissent just as the country is shifting towards an era of democracy after decades of autocratic rule.

The students were prepared for a fight. They carried bamboo sticks, metal bars and rocks as blue-jacketed marshals directed formations of young men into face-to-face confrontations with the police.

On a signal from numerous intelligence officers on the outskirts, riot police moved into position and began firing gas and pepper foam. Behind them, water-cannon trucks arrived, edging forward against a stubborn mass of students.

Members of the public, gathering outside homes and offices, openly jeered the riot police. The protesters responded with jeers and fighting songs.

A police car drew up behind one row of troops and unloaded 12 wooden cases of fresh ammunition as night fell. Most of the live shooting appeared to be in the air, with many people affected by the tear-gas.

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