Jakarta – Protesters from Jakarta to Makasssar took to the streets Wednesday to mark the end the first year of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's second term in office.
One student demonstrator was shot in the leg after police squared off against more than 100 mostly student protesters who had blocked the road in front of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) offices in Menteng, Central Jakarta.
A peaceful rally staged by hundreds of students, activists and labor groups in front of the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta turned into chaos after protesters tried to penetrate a security barricade.
The incident began when police used water cannon to stop dozens of protesters who were attempting to tear down a barb wire barricade. Protesters later hurled stones at police who responded by firing warning shots, tear gas and pepper spray.
Officers then divided the protesters in two groups. Some demonstrators fled to Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in front of the Constitutional Court building before disbanding.
The groups that demonstrated at the Palace included the Islamic Student Association (HMI), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), various student action forums, the Congress of the Indonesian Labor Union Alliance (KASBI) and Petisi 28.
Indria Fernida from Kontras said her team took 30 victims or the family members of victims in human rights violation cases to the rally to push the President to settle human rights cases. "Since there has been no effort to solve such cases, the chain of violence has continued until now," she told The Jakarta Post.
Kontras demonstrators carried black umbrellas that were painted with depictions of unresolved human rights incidents such as the Trisakti incident in 1998, the Tanjung Priok incident in 1984 and the murder of human rights campaigner Munir.
Political analyst Fadjrul Falaakh told the Post that the President "should be impeached because of his failure in areas such as corruption, poverty, the gap between provinces in Indonesia and civil and political rights, such as the church and Ahmadiyah attacks."
In Makassar, student protesters damaged two official cars outside Hasanuddin University and briefly took a police officer hostage. The students, who staged protests across Makassar city, accused Yudhoyono of failing to enforce the law and failing to improve people's welfare.
Police officer First Brig. Nur Ikhsan was held hostage by students for around an hour to stop nearby officers from shooting the protesters. Ikhsan was released following negotiations with Makassar Police chief detective Comr. Karim Samandi. The protest ended amid heavy rains in the afternoon.
In Cirebon, West Java, protesters set fire to tires, briefly blocking the country's main northern highway and forcing the police to divert traffic.
Students in Yogyakarta held a peaceful rally that caused a severe traffic jam in the heart of the city. In their speeches, the students criticized the government's weak foreign policy. (ipa)
[Andi Hajramurni, Slamet Susanto and Nana Rukmana contributed reporting from Makassar, Yogyakarta and Cirebon.]