No one in Jakarta expected the police shields stacked up yesterday outside the parliament building to remain out of use for long. But while preparing for renewed confrontation, public opinion on all sides finds it impossible to predict the outcome.
The death toll from Friday's massacre by soldiers shooting on unarmed demonstrators in the street rose last night to 18, with more than 400 wounded. The Jakarta Post summed up the mood with a front-page montage of a young man reeling backwards in the sights of a gun, beneath the words "Shock, Grief, Anger".
Yet despite the bloodshed, Gen Wiranto's position appears to have been strengthened, with President Habibie explicitly ordering him to "take stern action" against those allegedly seeking to topple the government.
In a national address on Saturday night, Mr Habibie accused "certain parties" of subversion and "trying to endanger the unity of the nation and the people".
As if to back up the point, Indonesia's military moved yesterday to detain several prominent government critics. Retired Lieut Gen Kemal Idris, the leader of an outspoken group of government critics called Barison Nasional, was picked up at his home by police. A fellow Barisan Nasional member, Lieut Gen Ali Sadikin, another retired officer and former Jakarta governor, was also summoned for questioning.
Mr Sri Bintang Pamungkas, an opposition politician who led a peaceful demonstration of tens of thousands of students outside the parliament on Saturday, was arrested, he said, "for violating five articles of the criminal code, for trying to topple the government and inciting people to commit violence. But all I was doing was trying to say something and use my freedom to speak about the need for reform."
On Saturday Mr Hariadi Darmawan, who initiated the opposition National Reform Movement, was interrogated for 13 hours, and a National Front member, Mr Roch Basoeki Mangoenpoerojo, was questioned for 51/2 hours. Both were released without charge.
Jakarta's streets, usually teeming with traffic and pedestrians on Sundays, were deserted as people feared the start of a military crackdown. Roads leading to the presidential palace were still blocked by troops in light tanks and armoured personnel carriers, while hundreds of marines, the only branch of the military still trusted by Indonesians on account of their sympathy for the pro-democracy movement, were deployed around the city.
Student leaders are in no doubt there is a protracted struggle ahead. They speak of the need to "consolidate forces" across the country. "We have to preserve our stamina," said Mr Rakhmad Dewanto, a student leader from the University of Indonesia. "This is going to be a very long haul, and so we have to pace ourselves. All students are now united and so in the coming week the protests are going to get much bigger."
Moderate politicians are appalled by Mr Habibie's move. "He has put his own position on the line by giving the chief of armed forces full powers," said a Golkar party leader.
The critical question now being asked is whether the events of the last week will slow or hasten the process of demilitarising Indonesia's political culture. It will not be an easy task either way: the vested interest in the fruits of government which the armed forces developed under three decades of Suhartoism will not be surrendered lightly.