Protests Sweep Indonesia
Protesting students and police clashed in central Jakarta on Thursday, as thousands of Indonesians protested in major cities.
Witnesses said students threw stones at police after they bashed and arrested 10 protesters who had refused to disperse.
"[The students] started throwing stones, and then the people watching cheered the students," said a witness.
About 300 students had gathered near a monument to the declaration of independence to demand President B.J. Habibie quit and hand over power to a transitional government until the June 7 parliamentary election.
Heavily armed riot police charged into the students and arrested several more after the stone-throwing started.
Several people were injured, including two photographers. Students later dispersed, as did police.
Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said Indonesian leaders must "urgently and boldly" address growing violence in East Timor and social unrest.
"This is a pivotal moment in the history of one of the world's great nations," Albright said at a news conference with Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas. "Events here in Indonesia over the next year, especially over the next few months, will go far to determine the extent of democracy, the pace of recovery and the prospects for social tranquility for this country and, by extension, of all of southeast Asia."
Thursday's Jakarta protest was the most violent since police and troops fired rubber and plastic bullets at protesters near parliament in early December, injuring several.
Earlier, about 1,000 people rallied outside the attorney-general's office in the south of the city to show their support for disgraced former President Suharto, ousted in May amid political and economic chaos.
The rally was peaceful and there were few troops on hand.
They dispersed peacefully after a short time. The attorney-general's office is investigating allegations Suharto corruptly amassed a multi-billion dollar fortune during his 32-year, army-backed rule.
Last month, hundreds of pro-Suharto supporters rallied at the same place when Suharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardianti Rukmana, was questioned over corruption allegations.
One protester at last month's rally said he was paid $1.75 to take part, but did not say who paid him.
In the city center, about 200 Moslems protested outside armed forces chief General Wiranto's office on Thursday, demanding his resignation for failing to quell six weeks of sectarian strife in the eastern spice island of Ambon.
More than 200 people have been killed in riots and violence, largely between Christian Ambonese and culturally and ethnically different Muslim migrants from other parts of the vast archipelago.
On Wednesday, about 1,000 Moslem students, chanting "Jihad! Jihad!" demonstrated in central Jakarta demanding a holy war against Christians n Ambon.
In the second largest city, Surabaya, about 400 students protested outside the East Java police headquarters on Thursday demanding the release of fellow students detained during clashes between troops and protesting workers and students in February.
Police arrested four students during the February clashes, triggered by protests demanding more money and better conditions for factory workers.
A wave of student-led protests in Jakarta subsided during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, but there have been scattered rallies since it ended in January.
Government protests around the nation have led in the past to bloody confrontations between security forces and protesters, sometimes triggering violent riots.
Indonesia has been racked by civil unrest for the past year as ethnic, religious and social tensions, fuelled by spiraling poverty, boil over amid the worst economic and political crisis in decades.
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