Indonesian commemorations attacked
By James Balowski
Scores of people were injured and 85 arrested when the Indonesian military attacked peaceful protesters commemorating the first anniversary of the July 27, 1996, riots in central Jakarta.
As many as 50 people were killed, hundreds were wounded and scores "disappeared" when the military and hired thugs attacked Megawati Sukarnoputri supporters at the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters last year.
Although most of the commemoration demonstrators have now been released, a number are still being detained. Some are expected to be tried for "spreading hatred against the government". Eight others are missing.
The commemoration was organised by a coalition under the banner of the National Committee for Democratic Struggle. The coalition includes pro-Megawati PDI forces, United Development Party members, the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and other pro-democracy groups. It is similar in composition to the spontaneous coalition that emerged during the May election campaign under the slogan Mega-Star-People.
Half a million copies of a leaflet supporting the commemoration action and calling on the demonstrators to "retake" the PDI offices were distributed before the rally. By July 27, authorities were checking the identification cards of everyone in the area, and two major streets were barricaded with barbed wire.
A flower-laying ceremony at Megawati's house at around 6am was attended by PDI supporters and friends and relatives of those who died or went missing during the riots. Despite a heavy military presence, there were no clashes.
By 10am, large numbers of protesters from north and south Jakarta began to assemble. Despite the military preventing many from joining the rally, some sources say that the crowd around the PDI office grew to as many as 1500. During the build-up, violent clashes occurred as the military attacked protesters to drive them out of the area.
Demonstrations were also held in a number of other major cities. Two demonstrators from Semarang in Central Java were beaten by plain-clothed intelligence officers. Another nine were arrested in Yogyakarta, and six more are still in detention in Surabaya, East Java.
Four PRD activists, arrested at the Blok M bus terminal in Jakarta, are still being held, along with five student activists arrested in central Jakarta on July 26.
Two other activists, Ab and Sy, were arrested prior to the demonstration for distributing leaflets supporting the action. They are now being interrogated by military intelligence and will be tried for "insulting" Indonesia's president.