Indonesian day marked

Jakarta - Thousands of people gathered at the Merdeka Palace yesterday to mark Indonesia's 52nd independence day with a solemn ceremony led by the country's 76-year-old President Suharto. Some 16,700 prisoners in jails throughout Indonesia had their sentence reduced in a traditional independence day amnesty. Meanwhile in Melbourne, Australia, more than 150 East Timorese staged a noisy protest outside the Indonesian consulate. - (AFP)