JAKARTA, Aug 4: Indonesian police on Monday used water cannons to disperse hundreds of student protestors who gathered outside the parliament building demanding the cancellation of the government’s plan to purchase Russian-made Sukhoi jet fighters and helicopters.

The anti-riot police sprayed the students who were trying to force their way into the parliament building by pushing down the front gate, witnesses said.

The demonstrators came from various universities in Jakarta and nearby areas to demand that members of Indonesia’s upper house, the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), investigate once and for the government’s recent counter-trade deal with Russia to buy Shukoi jet fighters and Mi-35 helicopters.

Police arrested at least one student protester at Monday’s rally, eyewitnesses said.—dpa