Riot police used tear gas, warning shots and water cannons to disperse hundreds of anti-US Muslim protesters outside Parliament yesterday.
It was the most violent in a series of almost daily demonstrations against the US-led air strikes against Afghanistan and erupted a day after the president of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, said military force should not be used to fight terrorism.
PHOTO: AP
Witnesses said officers hit some demonstrators with batons after ordering about 500 members of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front to end a rally outside the legislature. Some protesters threw rocks in retaliation.
Privately owned Metro TV reported that one of its cameramen was beaten by police. Witnesses said officers also assaulted at least two news photographers. Police smashed cars and motorbikes belonging to demonstrators, along with their public address equipment.
Police said 10 people had been injured and 20 arrested.
"I apologize for the excesses of our men," said Jakarta police spokesman Colonel Anton Bachrul Alam.
Yesterday was a public holiday in Indonesia where it is illegal to hold street protests on public holidays.
Some in the crowd held up posters of US President George W. Bush that read: "Wanted by the Islamic people for murder."
Hundreds of police guarded the legislature's compound, which was protected by razor wire. During the weekend, police arrested 27 members of the same group on charges of possessing knives and swords.
Later yesterday, about 150 officers in riot gear converged on the Jakarta office of the front, which has also threatened to round up and expel westerners.
Senior police said they wanted to hold talks with front leaders to ensure violence did not occur again. About 50 front members, armed with sticks, stood guard at the building in what appeared be a standoff.
Organizers of yesterday's protest said they wanted President Megawati Sukarnoputri to condemn the bombing campaign.
Megawati had been one of the first foreign leaders to sign up for the US-led coalition against terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Her government has tried hard to foster strong ties with Washington in a bid to rebuild it crisis-ridden economy. So far her government has only said it was "concerned" about the attacks and called for restraint.
However, in a speech on Sunday, Megawati signaled that her stance might be hardening.
Although she did not directly criticize the US or its allies, she said, "No individual, group or government has the right to look for terrorists by attacking another country's territory."
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