Some 30 people were injured and at least 46 arrested in Jakarta on September 27 in a series of clashes between anti-Suharto and pro-Suharto protesters and the police, following the dismissal of corruption charges against the former Indonesian president.
The September 29 Jakarta Post also reported that, according to police, at least one anti-Suharto protester was killed in a clash with police near the trial venue in south Jakarta. Police however were unable to identify the victim and there were no reports of bodies being admitted to any hospitals.
Sources in Jakarta said that a number of different groups were involved in the protests, including the People's Democratic Party (PRD), the National Student League for Democracy (LMND), City Forum (Forkot), City Front (Front Kota), the Student Action Front for Reform and Democracy (Famred) and the Students' and People's Committee for Democracy (Komrad). The groups are demanding Suharto be jailed immediately for human rights abuses and corruption during his 32 years in office.
The first clashes in front of the trial venue began at around 10am — 30 minutes before the trial was due to begin — and continued late into the night near Suharto's residence in central Jakarta. A number of buses used by pro-Suharto demonstrators and police vehicles were burned and there were reports of a soldier and police officer being beaten when locals joined with students at a demonstration near the National University campus in Salemba.
Unlike demonstrations at the two previous hearings, police reacted quickly and violently. The Post said that when protesters at the trial were blocked by a cordon of some 200 police, they began pelting them with stones and Molotov cocktails. Police then marched on the crowd, firing tear gas and rifles to disperse them. Protesters scattered in different directions and sporadic fighting continued for more than three hours.
In what the September 26 Associated Press news service described as "stunning TV footage", one police officer aimed his grenade launcher into the face of a cowering protester and fired point- blank. AP said the victim was one of many fleeing from the police charge and at the time was crouched on the sidewalk covering his head with his hands.
"Police surrounded him, and one officer aimed a tear gas launcher into his face. The round burst in a yellowish-white flash — the impact pitching the young man over his side.
"At least 10 other officers then began beating and kicking the prostrate victim. One officer tried to beat him with another grenade launcher, which discharged and enveloped the group in a cloud of gas. Bleeding and semi-conscious, the victim was taken to a hospital. It was not possible to immediately determine how badly hurt he was".
Equally violent behaviour by police was also reported later in the evening near Suharto's residence, when police charged anti-Suharto protesters who, according to the Post, were actually preparing to leave.
The Post said the situation quickly spiralled out of control as dozens of police officers moved in, arbitrarily firing tear gas into the demonstrators. Several of the demonstrators attempted to hide in surrounding homes.
"As the situation deteriorated, some officers were seen angrily shouting, ignoring their commanders' orders to stop firing. Several police officers became so enraged they hurled their batons at the houses", a Post report said.
PRD leader Anom Astika told Green Left Weekly that they were "very disappointed by the [court's] verdict" and that it was a "betrayal of the will of the people" engineered by remnants of Suharto's New Order regime. "Moreover, [Indonesia's] legislators are failing to take any action on this issue, it is as if they don't care about the decision", he said.
"What happened yesterday is very saddening for the people of Indonesia, they are the victims of Suharto and the military. The military and those who supported Suharto must be brought to trial for their crimes."
BY JAMES BALOWSKI