Jakarta – Residents living near the private residence of former president Suharto and his family in Menteng are appealing to students to halt their protests in the upmarket neighbourhood.

Interviewed by The Jakarta Post separately, the neighbours urged the students to hold their protests at other sites, such as the Attorney-General's Office or the House of Representatives.

The residents, particularly those close to the Suharto compound, said they did not object to the student protests as such, but to the disruption of their daily lives and damage to private and public property.

Yesterday, hundreds of protesters, mostly university students, clashed with police near Mr Suharto's home, again demanding that he be tried on allegations of corruption during his 32 years in power.

Chanting "Hang Suharto, Hang Suharto" the students attacked a barricade of police who then repeatedly fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

At least six protesters were detained, witnesses said. Several others were injured during the incident, including a police officer.

The residents said they had been living in a constant state of unease for weeks. Mrs Muchtony, in her 40s, said she had to move her four-year-old child and 80-year-old father-in-law to a relative's house.

"This is a residential area. If they want to hold a demonstration, why don't they choose other more appropriate places, such as the Attorney-General's Office or the House?" the housewife said.

"Besides, the protests have not succeeded because the students have never even been able to see the fence of Mr Suharto's house due to the tight security blockade, let alone hoping that he, his children or his lawyer would be willing to come out of the house to meet the protesters." She said the most exasperating time for the residents was when the protesters used stones and Molotov cocktails in an effort to break through the cordon of security personnel.

Her next-door neighbour, Christine, also hoped students would find another location to hold their protests. "The students today have no clear vision for their protests anymore," said the member of non-governmental organisation, the National Solidarity Foundation.

"They should have staged their protests at the Attorney-General's Office or at the House. Tell the officials and the legislators to properly carry out their jobs, negotiate with them..."

The women were apathetic about Attorney-General Marzuki Darusman's plan to move Mr Suharto to an unidentified "secure" location.