By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent

JAKARTA, August 16 (IslamOnline.net) – Following the arrest of Hambali, Asia’s most wanted who is top on the list of “terror suspects” of the U.S., Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia, President Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia urged her people to unite behind her and fight “terrorism” at will.

The televised speech, which is her state of the Nation address delivered in front of a half-empty House of Representatives (DPR), where she is not very popular, the President, addressed the Indonesians in very serious words.

“To all sections of society, I would urge you to remain united and jointly fight against terrorism," the President said Friday, August 15, as reported by Antara.

Hundreds of students were shouting “Megawati Resign” outside the Parliamentary complex at the same moment she was saying these words.

The students told IslamOnline.net that there will be bigger intermittent rallies if draconian laws are imposed by her regime. They added that the failure of the government to contain terror should not bring democracy backward.

They also called for the resignation of Vice President Hamzah Haz. The protesters claimed that the two leaders had failed to combat corruption. They said that the performance of both Megawati and Hamzah was no better than that of authoritarian former president Soeharto.

Referring to the Marriott bombing of last week that killed 12 and injured at least a hundred others, Megawati said the tears of the victims of Bali were scarcely dry when Jakarta was shaken up by the Marriott’s bomb.

"We must not blame each other or lose trust in each other as that would only weaken our resolve in fighting terror," she said in addition.

Indonesia celebrates its Independence Day on August 17^th, and the arrest of Hambali is said to be a landmark in the fight against terrorism.

New Zealand, Australia and some local observers has warned that there may be further terror attacks in Jakarta and probably in other areas where tourists are a plenty on the Independence Day itself.

Indonesian police on Friday declared that Hambali is the prime suspect in the Marriott bombing, adding that his lieutenant known as Zulkarnain was directly involved in the bombing of the American chains of hotels.

Despite her calls to the population to rally behind her government in the war against terrorism, many Jakartans are skeptical of the motives of a regime seen as fading and wanting to cling to power at all costs.

The president’s speech did not leave an enormous impression on the people in the streets, where comments are barely in her favor and support for anti-American sentiments are rather growing more rapidly.

Coupled with an impending economic crisis, expected after of the decision by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to pull out from the Indonesian economy upon the insistence of the public, the Megawati regime is bound to face harder times ahead.

In cyber café’s, hotels and restaurants, the citizens of Jakarta say their situation has not improved since the Megawati regime is in power.

The people even claims that life is more unbearable and that the daughter of the late father of the Nation, Ahmad Sukarno is digging the graves of the Indonesian republic with her anti-terror measures.

With the writing on the walls more evident that ever, the regime of Megawati, surrounded by non-Muslims and strongly opposing any changes to the Constitution of the country will find it rather impossible to get the support of the masses in its war against terrorism.

Megawati said that Indonesia categorically condemned all such "heinous acts" classified as terror attacks.

"Whatever the reasons, whoever the perpetrators are, these acts are still crimes against humanity," the President said.

Her promises to cooperate with other countries in fighting against such terrorism is also viewed as bowing to the pressure of the west and the constant arrest of Muslim clerics on what is seen as ‘flimsy’ charges is also decried by the people.

The poor attendance at the DPR was also a sign of the limited support that her regime has within the official structures of the newly found democracy, now challenged by the prospects of draconian laws and definite invasion of the private lives of the people in the name of the war against terrorism.