Anti-SBY rally in Surabaya turns violent
Wahyoe Boediwardana, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya, East Java | Tue, 12/14/2010 12:39 PM
A rally by students to protest the visit of President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono in Surabaya, East Java, turned violent Tuesday after police
forcibly dispersed it, arresting two protesters.
Dozens of students, mostly from Airlangga University, pelted
a police truck with stones and blockaded Jl. Airlangga in front of the
university's campus by setting four tires ablaze ion the road, demanding the
release of their friends.
Eyewitnesses said that 25 students from the university were
staging the rally when a truck load of police anti-riot personnel came to the
scene and dispersed the protesters. Police officers also gave three warning
shots to scare students away.
Most students managed to escape to the campus, leaving
behind two students who were arrested by the police. No details were
immediately available on the identities of the arrested protesters.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to deliver
a public lecture titled “Accelerating Technological Innovation to Support the
National Economy” at 10 November Institute of Technology (ITS) in Surabaya
today.
The President will be accompanied by First Lady Ani
Yudhoyono, and is scheduled to officiate facilities at ITS, namely the Robotika
building and Energy Center.
In the afternoon, Yudhoyono is scheduled to review the
Indonesian migrant workers agency in Kriyan, Sidoarjo.
