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Indonesian students enter third day of protests over new laws

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JAKARTA Indonesian students rallied for a third day yesterday against proposed new laws, a day after clashes in the capital injured more than 300 people.

Police fired tear gas and water cannon to break up Tuesday's rallies in Jakarta and other cities, some of the biggest since the 1998 student protests fuelled unrest that led to the fall of former strongman leader Suharto.

The rallies were smaller in Jakarta yesterday but there were fresh skirmishes in the area around the Parliament, with tear gas once again fired to disperse crowds.

At least 200 high school students had been arrested for not possessing a permit to protest, Jakarta's police spokesman Argo Yuwono said.

Students also held fresh protests in Surabaya in Java and stormed a parliament building in Padang in West Sumatra.

Jakarta police chief Gatot Eddy Pramono said 265 students and 39 police were injured on Tuesday and 94 people arrested.

Some of those detained had carried petrol bombs, he said.

The Jakarta-based University of Al Azhar said in a statement that one of its students was in a critical condition after taking part in protests.

President Joko Widodo on Friday delayed Parliament's vote on the new criminal code, which would replace a Dutch colonial-era set of laws, saying a new Parliament should deliberate on the Bill next month.

The revisions to the code include penalties for sex outside marriage, insulting the president's dignity, a four-year jail term for abortions in the absence of a medical emergency or rape, and a prison term for black magic. - REUTERS

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