Thousands of Indonesian students took to the streets in at least eight cities yesterday to mourn victims of clashes with security forces, as police resumed questioning of opposition leaders over an alleged anti-government plot behind the recent unrest.
Five opposition leaders, all but one signatories of a joint document which President B.J. Habibie has labelled subversive, were questioned again by police, said one of their lawyers, Mr Apong Herlina.
The Uni-Democracy Party of Indonesia leader, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, was the only one questioned who did not sign the joint communique.
The others were the National Front leader, retired Lieut Gen Kemal Idris; Permadi, a staunch supporter of the opposition leader, Mr Megawati Sukarnoputri; a former Jakarta governor, Mr Ali Sadikin; and Mr Hariadi Darmawan, of the Alumni Association of the University of Indonesia. Mr Habibie on Monday blamed "subversive" groups for recent violence. Clashes between security forces and student demonstrators at the weekend left at least 16 dead. Mr Habibie said political groups had used student movements to instigate the unrest.
The 18 lawyers for the suspects, the suspects themselves and political observers have accused the government of trying to shift attention away from its mounting problems, including the student clashes which also left more than 400 injured.
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation's executive director, Mr Bambang Wijoyanto, said the questioning of the opposition leaders was a government effort to silence them, as no evidence to support the subversion allegations had been found.
Meanwhile, thousands of students returned to the streets yesterday in at least eight Indonesian cities.
The students, demanding the removal of the military from the legislature and a trial of former president Suharto, clashed in Ambon, the main city in Maluku province, leaving about 50 injured, reports said.