Police foil Bandung students` plan to rally in Jakarta
Bandung (ANTARA News) - About 400 students from the students executive board (BEM) throughout Bandung who intended to hold a rally in Jakarta during the inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono were prevented from leaving by police on Tuesday.
"Police blocked 10 buses which we had planned to use to go to Jakarta and they sent the vehicles back to their owners," coordinator of the All-Bandung BEM, Mei Susnato, said here on Tuesday.
The buses were sent back to their owners by police moments before the students were to board them at about 5 am, he said adding that actually the students who had planned to hold a rally in Jakarta had been waiting for the buses since 3 am.
"Some students had gotten on the buses but police asked them to get down again," he said expressing his disappointment.
He said that he did not know why they had to be dispersed while they just wanted to put forward their aspirations. "We are going to tell them our aspirations. Why we have to be disturbed," he said.
In the meantime, Bandung Police Headquarters` chief Senior Commissioner Imam Budi Supeno refuted the allegation that police had forbidden them to travel to Jakarta.
"We did not forbid them to go to Jakarta but why should they go at a time like this," Supeno said.
He said that his side was deploying over 1,000 personnel to maintain security during the installation of Yudhoyono as president.
Yudhoyono was installed as the president of the Republic of Indonesia for the second consecutive term for the 2009 - 2014 period on Tuesday.(*)
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PubDate: 10/20/09 22:50
