http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/national/four-arrests-at-least-13-injured-as-rallies-spark-more-clashes/361723
March 03, 2010 Puttri Prameshwari, Ulma Haryanto, Farouk Arnaz & Zaky Pawas Police outside the House of Representatives on Thursday. (Antara Photo) Four Arrests, at Least 13 Injured as Rallies Spark More Clashes Four people were arrested on Wednesday afternoon during demonstrations in front of the House of Representatives that again turned violent, while five people detained after Tuesday's protest were released. Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said one of the four men arrested on Wednesday had sparked the violence by throwing rocks at the police. "He was seen by our officers as the one who started the chaos," Boy said, adding that the suspect said he was a member of the Indonesian Muslim Students' Action Front (Kammi). The others were arrested for carrying a rope used to pull down barbed wire barricades and for trying to provoke the masses, Boy said. Earlier in the day, the National Police released the four activists and a driver arrested after Tuesday's rally, which turned into a riot. National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said police were still processing the cases and transferring the dossiers to the prosecutor. Security in front of the House complex remained heightened on Wednesday as about a thousand protesters showed up to either support the government or rally against the bailout of Bank Century. The barbed wire barricades were doubled with at least three ranks of police lined up along Jalan Gatot Subroto . Despite the extra security measures, the day ended with at least 13 people injured, including four police officers and a photojournalist. Before the violence, pro-government groups, including the Betawi Communication Forum (Forkabi), the Indonesian People's National Committee (KMNI) and the People's Alliance for SBY (Arus) had the stage in front of the building, while police officers held back anti-government groups at intersections at either end of Jalan Gatot Subroto. "[Pro-government groups] hung their banners from 8:30 this morning, together with the officers who installed the wires," said Deni, a coordinator of protest group Kammi. "We had around 300 students coming but they were held in front" of the Forestry Ministry building, he said. Around 1:30 p.m., the government supporters left and half an hour later the protesters began arriving. They immediately rammed the barbed wire with their feet and poles and tore down and burned SBY banners, replacing them with their own flags and banners. It wasn't until 4:30 p.m. that clashes broke out after protesters were doused by water cannons. Skirmishes between protesters and police resulted in eight protesters, four police officers and a photographer being injured. Jakarta Emergency Ambulance officer Kartiko said one protester was struck on the head by a rock and was taken to the National Police Hospital in Kramat Jati. Four other protesters sustained minor injuries after being hit by blunt objects and another two suffered respiratory problems which occurred because of the crowd and stress, Kartiko said. A photographer from IndoPos newspaper was also wounded in the left eye, he said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
