C. Java military steps into conflict on Arief's dismissal<\/p>\n
SALATIGA, Central Java (JP): The military has warned teachers
\nof the Satya Wacana Christian University not to use students to
\ndramatize their opposition against the controversial dismissal of
\ntheir fellow teacher, Arief Budiman.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Diponegoro Military Command Maj. Gen. Soeyono,
\nwho oversees security in Central Java, insisted that teachers at
\nthe university should be \"independent and responsible\".<\/p>\n
\"Dismissal is not unusual. It's like an employer who has to
\nfire his reckless driver and find a better substitute,\" he told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
Soeyono's warning was the latest development in the
\ncontroversy over the dismissal of Arief, an outspoken American-
\neducated sociologist also well-known as a government critic.
\nArief also spearheaded opposition to the recent election of the
\nuniversity's rector which he said was \"undemocratic.\"<\/p>\n
The university's management said Arief had ignored various
\nwarnings since 1988, including his recent article in a Jakarta
\nnewspaper critical of their leadership.<\/p>\n
His dismissal has met strong opposition from many students
\nand teachers in and outside the prestigious university.
\nDemonstrations demanding his reinstatement have been the order of
\nthe day since Monday.<\/p>\n
Soeyono said that students and teachers of the university must
\nnot use techniques like street demonstrations in the name of
\ndemocracy to press their demand.<\/p>\n
\"The problem is strictly between Arief Budiman and the
\nuniversity management,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, support for Arief has been streaming in from many
\nquarters. In Pekalongan, 100 kilometers west of Semarang, 150
\nalumnae of the university threw their support behind his plan to
\nsue the rector for dismissing him.<\/p>\n
Similar support also came from the Jakarta-based Pijar (Glow)
\nfoundation for information service. It said in a statement that
\nhis dismissal amounted to an anti-democratic act.(har\/pan)<\/p>",
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