[stop-imf] Indonesia: Police break up protests against IMF and Golkar

[Robert Weissman]

Activists in Indonesia continue to advance the militant line: no more
loans from the international financial institutions, and no structural
adjustment.

-- 
Robert Weissman	<rob@essential.org>
Essential Information
P.O. Box 19405, Washington, DC 20036, USA
Tel: 1-202-387-8030
Fax: 1-202-234-5176
www.essential.org


Indonesian Observer
April 19, 2001

Police break up protests against IMF and Golkar

JAKARTA - Police clashed here yesterday with two separate groups of
students protesting against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
former dictator Soeharto.

About 200 protesters from at least three university student groups marched
outside the UN office in Jalan Thamrin, Central Jakarta, and demanded a
visiting IMF team to leave Indonesia immediately.

The clash erupted as the demonstrators forcibly broke open locked iron
gates of the UN office to get through into the building compound The
students later dispersed after police fired tear gas and beat them with
batons. At least one of the protesters was arrested during the protest
which caused traffic congestion on the main streets outside.

The police also confiscated several posters and banners carried by the
protesters. One banner read: "IMF, you can keep your money".

The protesters said they were opposed to the country's already debt-ridden
economy being burdened with more loans.

IMF officials are currently in Jakarta to review a stalled US$5 billion
rescue package for the country's ailing economy, which collapsed three
years ago amid the Asian financial crisis.

The students also rejected the IMF's pressure on Indonesia to cut
government oil subsidies for the poor and partly blamed the international
agency's intervention, technically called structural adjustment, in
Indonesia's economic affairs for the country's collapse.

The protesters also called for "people's justice" to try former officials
linked to Soeharto's corrupt regime and to confiscate the Soeharto family
fortune in order to repay the country's debt.

Meanwhile in a separate protest, student demonstrators from the National
Democratic Front were demanding that the government disband Golkar, which
had been used by Soeharto and the military to retain power for 32 years.

Soeharto was forced from power by anti-government protests and mass riots
in 1998.

Golkar is the second largest faction in parliament. Student groups wanting
to see the party banned and its leaders put on trial for alleged
corruption have frequently clashed with police.

Golkar has been playing a major role in the current political crisis in
which President Abdurrahman Wahid faces possible impeachment over
allegations of corruption.

He denies any wrongdoing and is refusing to quit.

However, many legislators said they will force him to resign
constitutionally, opening the way for him to be replaced by powerful Vice
President Megawati, who is the daughter of Soekarno, the nation's founding
president.