By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, Oct 20 (ANTARA) - Many parties have opposed the nomination of Boediono as vice president even though the former Bank Indonesia governor has tried several times to explain he is not what his critics say about him.
The opposition seems to still exist as shown by the rallies by students and activists in a number of regions when President-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President-elect Boediono were officially installed on Tuesday.
Initially, at least 14 groups of students from various elements would hold rallies outside the Parliament building where the presidential inauguration was held. However, about 17,000 security personnel from the police and the military were deployed to safeguard the event. They managed to prevent demonstrators from coming closer to the Parliament building.
According to the Jakarta Police's Traffic Management Center (TMC), at least 15 groups of various elements had given notice of their plans to stage rallies, of which 14 would be held in front of the Parliament building.
The demonstrators among others held rallies in Jl HR Rasuna Said and in front of the ministry of manpower and transmigration on Jalan Gatot Subroto, both in South Jakarta.
Rallies also took place in other regions such as West Nusa Tenggra (NTT), several cities in East Java and in West Kalimantan.
In Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, a group of 100 students representing various campus elements demonstrated on Jalan Udayana criticizing the performance of Yudhoyono's government in the past five years.
Field coordinator L Joni Suryadi said Yudhoyono's leadership had failed to bring prosperity to the people. There were still groups of people who were suffering from poverty. Seizure of people's land often happened while big companies were given a chance to monopolize vast expanses of land.
In Bandung, West Java, about 400 demonstrators from the Bandung Students Executive Board (BEM) Bandung had planed to launch a rally in Jakarta during the inauguration but they were foiled by police.
"Police blocked 10 buses which we had planned to use to go to Jakarta and thet sent the buses back to their owners" coordinator of the All-Bandung BEM, Mei Susnato, said. He said that some students had already gotten on the buses but police asked them to get down again.
Bandung Police Headquarters' chief Senior Commissioner Imam Budi Supeno said his side had not forbidden the students to travel to Jakarta. "We did not forbid then to go to Jakarta but why should they go at a time like this," Supeno said.
He said his side had deployed over 1,000 personnel to maintain security during the installation of Yudhoyono as president.
Similar rallies were also held by students and activists in East Java. About 150 poor people who were grouped in the People's Front for the Indonesian Poor (FSRMI) demonstrated around the Submarine Monument (Monkasel) in Jalan Pemuda to express their objections to what they called "neo-liberalist" programs.
"We are calling on SBY and Boediono not to continue neo-liberalist programs. Neoliberalist polices have brought hardship to the people," rally spokesman Hendraven said.
On the sidelines of the rally --attended by activists from Malang, Mojokerto, Jombang, Ngawi, Madiun and other districts in East Java-- Hendraven accused Yudhoyono and Boediono of having implemented the concept of neo-liberalism. He mentioned that some state assets had been sold through foreign capital investment. Likewise, the Bank Century case had also caused a loss of Rp6.7 trillion to the state, he said.
Other sectors such as employment and health had also been liberalized. Employment was liberalized through the legalization of the work contract system while liberalization of the health sector had caused the health care service to become expensive.
"Therefore, we are calling on Yudhoyono's government to stop its programs which are neolib in nature by lifting pro-neolib laws such as Law No. 12 / 2003 on Manpower, Law No. 22 / 2001 on Oil and Gas, Law No. 25 / 2007 on Capital Investment, Law No. 9 / 2009 on BHP (legal entity status of education) and other laws on special economic zones," he said
Rallies also took place in the East Java town of Malang. About 500 students demonstrated in front of the local Legislative Assembly (DPRD) and of the office of the Malang city mayor.
"We are not rejecting the inauguration but we are calling on the next government to adopt a firmer stance. We have to guard the government in the next five years," Hendra Wibisono, one of the demonstrators, said.
He said that the government in the next five years would face a steep road because it was not balanced where the opposition strength was almost meaningless. "The grand coalition being built by the Democrat Party is not balanced with the strength of an opposition," he said.
Therefore, the only power that could balance the government in the next five years is the extra-parliamentary power or street parliament, he said.
In the meantime, in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, tens of students held a rally around the University of Tanjung Pura (Untan) to warn the people of neo-liberalist concepts.
The students were grouped in the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front (KAMMI) for West Kalimantan. KAMMI field coordinator Rohsyandi Sandika said the victory of the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - Boediono pair (SBY-Boediono) happened amid the crisis that occurred due to imperialism.
The students said they rejected any intervention into the efforts made by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to fight corruption. So, they were against the scrapping of the KPK rules by the issuance of a new law on corruption crimes which had the potential to give a chance to the rebirth of corrupters.
"We are holding this rally without any intention to oppose the government but to guard the new administration so that it will be free from corruption, collusion and nepotism," he said. ***1*** (T.014/A/HAJM/22:30/a014)
(T.A014/A/A014/A/A014) 20-10-2009 22:39:30
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