Suharto avoids court
Students protesters who led the mass actions which toppled former President Suharto two years ago reacted with anger and disgust at his failure to show up on the first day of his corruption trial on August 31. Suharto's lawyers claimed he was too ill to attend, and the trial has been postponed for two weeks.
Agence-France Presse said the several hundred protesters came from a number of different groups. "We will continue to push for a trial by the people ... not like the trial we saw today, which is a farce", said a spokesperson for the student group City Forum (Forkot).
Protesters then marched along Jakarta's main boulevard, stopping to rally outside buildings and a five-star hotel they said were symbols of Suharto's ill-gotten wealth.
Students protest new education fees
University of Indonesia students marked the first day of the new semester by boycotting classes on August 29, in protest against additional fees imposed by the government.
According to the Jakarta Post, students at the southern UI campus in Depok had gathered in front of their respective departments since early morning.
The Post said that some 700 students failed to register for classes in protest against the fees. Students also blockaded the gate, preventing cars from entering. Students at the university's other campus in central Jakarta also boycotted classes.
Police in Bali shoot seven
One person was killed and six others injured on August 28 when police fired on protesters in Bali. The Indonesian Observer said that the shootings occurred when 1000 people protested outside a hall where the newly elected regent of Jembrana was being inaugurated.
Most of the demonstrators were supporters of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle who claimed the regent had bought votes ahead of the August 14 poll.
Protesters forced their way into the hall, allegedly damaging furniture and chasing the local legislative assembly speaker. The Observer said that when the crowd began stoning the two politicians, police opened fire.
Police insisted that they had used only rubber bullets.
Rally by victims of 1996 attack
On August 30, some 200 victims of the July 27, 1996, military attack on the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters gathered in central Jakarta, demanding that the provincial government reject Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's accountability speech.
According to Detik, they said that Sutiyoso — who was commander of the Jakarta military district at the time — was responsible for the bloody takeover of the PDI headquarters. At least 50 people were killed and hundreds injured during the attack.
The demonstrators came from the July 27 Youth Movement, the Family 124 Communication Forum and the Jakarta Council of Reform Saviours. They carried banners reading "Sutiyoso = Dracula" and "Sutiyoso's Hands Covered With Blood" and a 50-metre banner covered with signatures of people who supported an investigation into the July 27 incident.
[Visit Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor's web site at <http://www.asiet.org.au>.]