Jakarta, May 19, 1998. Fadli began to feel tense when entering Senayan area. Together with approximately 6,000 National Front students (a mixture of three universities: National University of Jakarta, Jayabaya University Jakarta and Pakuan Bogor University), he will feel the situation of life and death.
"Before we got information, the House of Representatives / MPR was closely guarded by the army. So to enter it we have to fight first with them "recalls former students of Pakuan University.
Once the bus and vehicle groups containing the National Front's entourage reached Taman Ria area, the situation turned out not to be as feared by the students. Indeed there are some Panzer Cavalry armored personnel and approximately two companies of Marine Corps Navy that was on the watch. But they let the group of students drove to the Parliament Building / MPR.
"The situation is so absurd, we are ready to fight it was left just like that. No clashes and no gunshots, "said Faizal Hoesein, KM Coordinator. UNAS (National Student Family University).
Arriving at the gate of the MPR House Building, instead of being intercepted, the students were even welcomed by the Kostrad (Army Strategic Command) troop. The green-armed warriors invited the korlap (field coordinator) to arrange the orderly ranks. They then invited the students to enter in berbanjar. While on either side, the soldiers were armed with escort.
"Only after all my friends came in, we were released," Faizal said. What caused the soldiers to allow the students to occupy the DPR / MPR Building?
Unusual
Politically, the students actually need to occupy the DPR / MPR Building. According to Muchtar E. Harahap and Andris Basril, the occupation must be done to urge the issue of holding the MPR Special Session.
"There is a kind of perception among the student leaders that there is no other event for constitutional pressure unless through the representatives of the people residing in the DPR / MPR Building," Muchtar and Andris wrote in the Student Movement in Indonesian Politics.
So since May 18, 1998, the flow of student arrivals continues to flow into the House of Representatives / People's Consultative Assembly. They not only come from Jabodetabek area alone, but also some from Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java and some even come from outside Java. Until the time of Suharto's resignation from the post of President of RI, the mass of students who had accumulated reached approximately 60,000 people.
For Lieutenant General (Ret.) Sintong Panjaitan, the phenomenon is unusual. According to the former Kopassus officer, in a chaotic situation as in May 1998, ABRI should not allow anyone to enter the DPR / MPR Building.
"Therefore, I wonder why the House of Representatives / MPR can be easily occupied by the masses of students at that time?" Sintong said.
In his biography entitled The Journey of a Soldier of Command, Sintong strongly believes that it was not too difficult for ABRI at that time to prevent the mass of students from entering the DPR / MPR Building. But in fact they do not make such preventive efforts. Whereas at that time ABRI's strength in Jakarta was huge and President Soeharto was sure they were behind him.
"President Soeharto has entrusted security and order issues to ABRI," Sintong said as submitted to author Hendro Subroto.
Mix Elite Hand
It could be the loosening of the DPR / MPR Building guard in relation to the tough struggles that took place at the elite level including the military elite. As once posed by Edward Aspinal, an Australian political observer from Australia. According to Edward, before the fall of Soeharto, the Indonesian military actually no longer exists in a unity of attitude.
"People say around Suharto there is a group of" green soldiers "who are more likely to side with Islam and a more nationalist" red-and-white "group," Edward said in a discussion at PIJAR Indonesia in 1997.
The X-Pos edition of February 28-March 6, 1998 even explicitly mentions the feud between the two groups conical to Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto and General Wiranto. According to the bulletin circulating darkly before the fall of President Soeharto, Prabowo was very strong in Jakarta while Wiranto controlled ABRI Headquarters.
In such a context, the success of the students occupying the DPR / MPR Building is inseparable from the effective running of political lobbying by intellectuals who are close to the students. Time magazine, March 30, 1998 edition, mention is Hermawan Sulistyo and Daniel Sparingga who several times establish secret contact with the military elite. It was done in an effort to measure the extent to which students can be allowed to perform the action. But the analysis quoted by Time was denied by both in Gamma magazine 8 August 1999 edition.
What is clear that the student occupation of the DPR / MPR building does not last long. Two days after the fall of Soeharto as President, the student masses were "expelled" easily by the army.