Police Detain Student Protesters and a Buffalo as Yudhoyono Arrives In Palembang

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono attended the commemoration of the 64th National Press Day in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Tuesday, however prior to his arrival, police detained a group of rallying students and confiscated a buffalo.

Yudhoyono and his entourage took off from the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta at 8 a.m. and arrived at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport in Palembang at 9:10 a.m. A traditional welcome dance, the “Gending Sriwijaya,” greeted the president upon his arrival.

Yudhoyono was scheduled to deliver a speech and witness the signing of a company standards ratification by 20 news organizations.

Meanwhile, a group of students from Unity Indonesian Muslim Student Action (KAMMI) were detained by the police for rallying at Jalan Demang Daun Lebar, Palembang, where the presidential entourage was scheduled to pass.

Metro TV reported that police confiscated a buffalo and open letter which the students planned to give the president. Palembang Police Chief Sr. Comr. Luky Hermawan said the students were detained because the rally should have taken place at a different location.

Yudhoyono grabbed headlines earlier this month for expressing upset that demonstrators in Jakarta had used a buffalo at a protest.

“The [demonstrators] brought a buffalo, [implying] that SBY’s body was as big, lazy and stupid as the buffalo,” the president said at the time.

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