Not everybody was upset about Thursday's clashes in Jakarta. A water seller did brisk trade. ``We are used to it. We had a good day today. These people need water and used the bottles to make Molotov cocktails.'' ----------- September 23, 1999 Indonesia Security Bill Sparks Bloody Unrest By Reuters JAKARTA (Reuters) - Thousands of students clashed with security forces in Indonesia Thursday as they protested against a new security law that they said gives the already powerful military even freer reign to crush dissent. Up to 50 people, nearly all of them protesters, were injured in the capital and second-biggest city Surabaya as police fired tear gas and plastic bullets into the crowds. In Jakarta, students threw rocks and Molotov cocktails, torched a car, a military minibus and road toll booths, and fought running battles with riot police well into the night. They tore up road barriers and used the debris to block two main roads. Students chanted ``Revolution till death!'' At least 30 people were injured in Jakarta, hospital sources said, and witnesses said another 20 were injured in Surabaya, 420 miles to the east of the capital. ``If this law is approved... then the democracy we have struggled for is dead... the military can take control of the country any time it wants,'' said one student pamphlet. The bill was passed by parliament earlier in the day. At least 5,000 people protested in different parts of Jakarta, and about 3,000 of them neared parliament house downtown when they met a hail of rubber bullets and tear gas canisters. Many of the protesters wore the red and white colors of the Indonesian flag. Several were armed with sticks. In Surabaya, witnesses said about 1,000 protesters were baton-charged by security forces, who also fired teargas. Around 300 students occupied the local government building in the city, demanding that the law not be applied in East Java. Armed forces commander General Wiranto denied the students' accusations that the army was trying to push through the legislation in the dying days of the current parliament to secure its power base. ``The bill is in line with democracy and human rights,'' he told reporters. Indonesia's first democratically elected parliament in over 40 years will convene next week. It is unclear if that legislature would ever have agreed to such a law. The new law gives authority to the president to declare a state of emergency in a province, if this is requested by the provincial legislature and governor. The decision also requires the consent of Indonesia's parliament. The Prevention of Danger law does not give a clear timeframe for how long the consultation process should take. It says a provincial state of emergency could last a maximum of six months. The issue has sparked protests across Indonesia for weeks. Opponents argue the law will give the military and the government even more power to crush dissent just as the country shifts toward an era of democracy after decades of autocratic rule. The government says it watered down the law to meet most objections and that it was vital for the old 1959 security law to be updated. Unlike the original draft, the final version does not allow restrictions on the media during a state of emergency. Not everybody was upset about Thursday's clashes in Jakarta. A water seller did brisk trade. ``We are used to it. We had a good day today. These people need water and used the bottles to make Molotov cocktails.''
