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tudents across the country have been vehemently rejecting the government’s plan to increase fuel prices and say they will assemble in larger numbers on April 1.

The date is expected to mark the implementation of the new prices of subsidized fuel, in which the government is seeking increases of Rp 1,500 for gasoline and Rp 4,500 for diesel.

But the plan has drawn nationwide protests, especially from university campuses.

“We are urging the government to cancel the plan. If not, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono must step down,” Andriana, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front (KAMMI), said on Monday at the Gedung Sate gubernatorial office building in Bandung.

Other groups of students expected to join the rallies are those assembled under the Indonesian Republic Catholic Students’ Front, the Students’ Executive Agency and the Indonesian Muslim Students’ Association.

“Logistically, we are coordinating to mobilize at least 5,000 people in the rally in Jakarta later on,” he said.

The student coalition has decided that all group leaders at the municipal level should hold rallies.

At the Gedung Sate building, the protesters carried posters, reading “If fuel prices rise, down with the government”, and “SBY-Boediono step down”.

In Medan, North Sumatra, the police said they were sensing plans for massive protests against the fuel price increase, which will be held simultaneously in 33 provinces.

The issue was disclosed by police officials on the sidelines of a coordinating meeting between police forces within the North Sumatra Police force in Medan on Monday. The closed-door meeting, led by North Sumatra Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Cornelis Hutagaol, discussed the expected rallies.

North Sumatra Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Heru Prakoso said the rallies would be held in 33 provinces, including North Sumatra. He added that police had learned about the intended rallies from intelligence.

Heru said the rallies in North Sumatra were potentially anarchic. To anticipate unrest, added Heru, police forces in the province had conducted various exercises in order to prepare anticipatory measures.

“Every police officer tasked with securing the rallies have been trained. They are equipped with the knowledge to act according to procedures,” Heru told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The police in Yogyakarta announced that they had arrested two suspects of hoarding fuel, amounting to 3,000 liters.

Adj. Comr. Anny Pudjiastuty said they were still investigating the case by questioning the two suspects.

A rally in Yogyakarta was marked with the burning of posters depicting SBY and Boediono.

“We reject the plan to increase fuel prices as of April 1. That will make people suffer, like rats dying in a rice barn,” Syamsul Fauzi, the rally’s coordinator, said.

Rallies in Makassar, South Sulawesi, were joined by students from several universities in the city.

A number of the protesters demonstrated at the office of state oil and gas company, Pertamina.

“The hikes in fuel prices will trigger increases in the prices of other goods, especially basic necessities,” one of the protesters, Andi Fachruddin Adam, said.

“It’s the government’s obligation to subsidize poor people. Increasing fuel prices is akin to killing people,” he said.