Police fired tear gas to disperse stone-throwing students in central Jakarta today after they forced their way into the grounds of defence headquarters and tried to wreck property and cars.
Police later beat some of the more than 100 protesters and destroyed one of their buses as they ran away.
There were no serious injuries and no damage at the defence headquarters, police and witnesses said.
The students were protesting against the political party of former President Suharto and its continued powerful role in domestic politics.