National Awakening Day commemorated with anti-
Suharto protests

National Awakening Day on May 20 was commemorated
with a demonstration at the State Palace in Jakarta
and protests in a number of other Indonesian cities.
The majority of protests were by student
organisations that were demanding that the
government revoke the order to stop the
investigation into corruption by former President
Suharto. (Liputan 6, 21/5/2006)

Anti-Suharto protests ends in clash, arrests

The termination of the investigation into Suharto
continues to attract protests. On May 21, dozens of
protesters from the Indonesian Muslim Students
Action Front (KAMMI) and students from the Surabaya
Institute of Technology protested in East Java
provincial capital of Surabaya.

The students were demanding that Suharto be tried in
a court of law and that the Attorney General revoke
the order to stop his investigation. They also
warned of the danger of the “latent New Order” which
is trying to return to power.

A confrontation with police was unavoidable after
negotiations reached a dead end with police claiming
that the protest was illegal. Although police asked
the students to end the demonstration by 11am,
protesters insisted on giving speeches until noon.
They also set fire to tyres and threw plastic
bottles at police. Eventually police attacked the
protests and two students were arrested for
disturbing public order. (Liputan 6, 21/5/2006)

Newly elected regent suspected of using false
diploma

Scores of residents from the Bungo regency of Jambi,
East Nusa Tenggara, protested at the Jambi regional
police headquarters on May 21. The protest was held
to demand an investigation into allegations that the
recently elected regent of Bungo used a forged
diploma to be registered for nomination. Police were
mobilised to blockade protesters who had unfurled
banners during the protest. (Liputan 6, 21/5/2006)

Protesters in Jakarta demand Suharto be tried

Dozens of people from the Try Suharto Social
Movement (GMAS) protested in front of the State
Palace in Central Jakarta on May 21. They were
calling on the government to bring the former
president to trial. The action, which began in front
of the Arjuna Monument, was demanding that the
Attorney General, Agung Abdul Rahman Saleh, revoke
the recently issued order to stop the investigation
into the Suharto case. They also called on the
government to seize the assets belonging to the 84-
year-old man and his cronies. (Liputan 6, 21/5/2006)

Yogyakarta students reject amnesty for Suharto

Lively demonstrations against the granting of
amnesty to Suharto have taken place in various parts
of the country. In the Central Java city of
Yogyakarta, an action was held by dozens of student
from the People’s Challenge Alliance (ARM) on May
21.

The protest by ARM, which represents an alliance of
organisations including the National Student League
for Democracy (LMND), the Muslim Students
Association for Reform (a splinter group of HMI) and
the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD), started at the
Gajah Mada University roundabout at around 10.30am.

Protesters articulated five demands: Arrest, try and
seize Suharto’s assets, the nationalisation of the
mining industry, free education and healthcare, the
abolition of the long-term debt and no new
borrowings and a wage rise for workers in accordance
with the cost of living in Indonesia’s nine largest
cities.

They also brought banners protesting the
government’s closure of the Suharto case that
insinuated President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY)
is a part of the New Order regime. A number of
banners had messages such as "SBY-JK = Neo-New Order
and "Amnesty for Suharto = The rise of the New
Order"

The coordinator of ARM said that protests would not
end there and that they would continue to build a
movement to protest against Suharto’s amnesty.
(Detik.com, 21/5/2006)

Garut residents finally accept Bandung rubbish

Dozens of Pasar Bajing residents from the Sukaraja
Village in the Banyuresmi sub-district of Garut,
West Java, demonstrated on May 21 against the Pasar
Bajing area being used as a disposal sight for
rubbish from nearby Bandung. The protesters had
planned to intercept West Java Governor Danny
Setiawan on his way to a visit to the site.

After several rounds of negotiations with the Garut
regional government, in the end the residents
reopened the road so the governor’s entourage could
enter the area. They also agreed to accept rubbish
from Bandung but only for a limited number of days.
(Liputan 6, 22/5/2006)

Protesters ’seal off’ Suharto’s residence in Solo

Demonstrators protesting against Suharto and his
cronies from the Social Alliance for the People’s
Welfare (AMUK-Rakyat) ’sealed off’ Ndalem Kalitan,
Suharto’s residence in the Central Java city of Solo
this afternoon.

The coordinator of the action, Winarso, said that
they sealed off the residence to symbolise the
takeover of assets owned by Suharto and his family
by the state because they were obtained through the
oppression of the Indonesian people.

"If the government does not have the courage to
pursue and take control of Suharto and his cronies’
wealth it will be the people who will take action.
Most of the wealth of his family and cronies was
obtained by greed and deceit", said Winarso. (Tempo
Interactive, 22/5/2006)

’Oneng’ joins protest against pornography law in
Bali

Protests for and against the draft law on
pornography (RUU-APP) continue to be organised.
While protesters in Jakarta demonstrated in support
of the bill, in Bali, around 100 activists from the
People’s Awakening Alliance (AKR) demonstrated
against the law on May 21. The well-known actor
Rieke ’Oneng’ Diah Pitaloka even joined action.

The action in front of the Bajra Sandhi Monument of
Struggle was commemorating eight years since the
reform movement was launched. During the action that
began at around 3pm, they held speeches and
presented a music performance of songs from the
activist movement. The stage even had a picture of a
naked woman as a backdrop symbolizing their
objections to the law.

In a speech Pitaloka said "This afternoon in Jakarta
[they are] supporting the ratification of the RUU-
PAA on the grounds that it will improve the dignity
of this nation. But the rottenness of this nation is
not because of the sway of dangdut [music] singers
but because of the corrupters. If the RUU-APP is
ratified, the jails will be filled with artists,
housewives selling jamu [traditional medicine] who
wear a kebaya [traditional tight fitting blouse],
while the corrupters will be able to walk free".
(Detik.com, 22/5/2006)

Workers in Malang demand the release of six
colleagues

On May 22, around 750 workers from PT Adiputro in
the Malang city of East Java took to the streets
again to demand the release of six of their
colleagues who are currently being detained by the
municipal police.

The action started at the offices of the Malang
Indonesian Workers Solidarity Struggle (SPBI)
followed by a march to the Malang Regional House of
Representatives (DPRD) some five kilometers away.

In speeches they said that police had acted
arrogantly and unfairly in attacking and arresting
132 striking workers. "During the strike, there were
no workers who caused damage [to property] or took
other anarchic actions. Why then did the police
forcibly arrest the workers", said SPBI secretary
general Andy Irfan.

Irfan added "What clearly violates [the law] is the
owners of Adiputro who pay workers less than the
regional minimum wage". He said that the workers had
been on strike for more than a month demanding a
wage increase but there had still been no response
from the company management. (Detik.com, 22/5/2006)

Students from Tana Toraja protest in Makassar

Dozens of students from the Central Sulawesi regency
of Tana Toraja protested at the Makassar DPRD on May
24. They were opposing the government’s plan to
split up the Tana Toraja regency. The students said
that the plan to split up the regency was nothing
more than an effort by the political elite to divide
up power among themselves. Council members have
promised to arrange a meeting between the students
and a special committee on the matter. (Liputan 6,
25/05/2006)

Papuan students in Yogya protest PT Freeport case

Dozens of Papuan students in Yogyakarta held a
demonstration on May 25 against the prosecution of a
number of Papuan civilians involved in protests
against PT Freeport Indonesia. They were also
protesting the trial of 10 Papuan students who were
arrested following protests at Plaza 89 in the South
Jakarta area of Kuningan last February.
Demonstrators said that the trial goes against the
sense of justice of all those Papuans that have been
victimised by PT Freeport. (Liputan 6, 25/05/2006)

‘Gus Dur lovers’ protest Mujahidin Council in
Surabaya

Hundreds of people from the East Java city of
Pasuruan, calling themselves lovers of Abdurrahman
Wahid or Gus Dur, along with members of the National
Awakening Party-linked youth group Garda Bangsa
(Nation’s Guardians) protested at the headquarters
of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) in
Surabaya on May 24.

The demonstrators were protesting the eviction of
Gus Dur when he spoke at an interethnic and
religious discussion in Purwakarta, West Java, on
May 23. They said that the eviction was an act of
harassment against the Islamic scholar and could
trigger hostility between religious groups. They are
therefore demanding that four Islamic groups, the
MMI, the Hizbut Tahir Indonesia (HTI), the Islamic
Defenders Front (FPI) and the Islamic Community
Forum (FUI) issue a public apology in the mass
media.

Similar protests were articulated by a number of
public figures from the Social Alliance Against
Violence and the Wahid Institute in Jakarta.
(Liputan 6, 25/05/2006)

Thousands of farmers occupy Lampung parliament

Thousands of PT Bangun Nusa Indah rubber plantation
farmers in the South Sumatra city of Lampung have
been protesting at the DPRD since May 21. The
farmers are demanding that PT Bangun Nusa Indah is
relocated and for the return 4,000 hectares of palm
oil land that was taken over by the plantation
company.

One of the spokespersons for the farmers, Achmadi,
said that the farmers have agreed to remain at the
DPRD until their demands are met. The company has
failed to fulfill a summons to meet with one of the
DPRD’s commissions and has only met with activists
from the Justice and Prosperity Party, which
supports the company’s claim over the land.
(Detik.com, 26/5/2006)

Banten students demand Suharto be tried

Dozens of students from the Banten provisional
chapter of KAMMI protested in Serang on May 28. They
were demanding that Suharto and the lackeys of the
New Order regime be tried in a court of law.
(Liputan 6, 28/5/2006)

Plasma Karet farmer protest enters seventh day

Entering the seventh day, around 1,000 rubber
farmers from Tulang Bawang were still occupying the
Lampung DPRD. The farmers say they will remain there
until they are able meet with the management of PT
Bangun Nusa Indah Lampung, which is the parent
company in a palm oil partnership program. (Liputan
6, 28/5/2006)