High school students demand total reform<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of fresh senior high school graduates
\ncelebrated yesterday with a peaceful demonstration for total
\nreform, held at the Central Jakarta campus of the University of
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Students from 17 high schools in Jakarta arrived at the campus
\nat midday with their uniforms, hair and faces painted various
\ncolors, the customary way of students here to mark the end of the
\nschool year.<\/p>\n
Calling themselves Aksi Solidaritas Pelajar Jakarta (Jakarta
\nStudents Solidarity Action), the students demanded the repeal of
\nfive existing political laws, the Armed Forces' dual function,
\ngeneral elections and the dismissal of members of House of
\nRepresentatives and People's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
Warto from Bunda Kandung senior technical high school said the
\ndemonstration was planned three days previously after the recent
\nstudent sit-in at the House building.<\/p>\n
\"It's a kind of support and solidarity for the university
\nstudents, who demanded the same thing.\"<\/p>\n
He said students from his school used their own money to rent
\na bus to transport them from their campus in Pasar Minggu, South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Students had planned a street rally, he added, but they were
\ndissuaded by the sight of soldiers posted in the area.<\/p>\n
Students read poems and sang songs in front of the medical
\nschool on Jl. Salemba.<\/p>\n
Other high schools represented included SMU Budi Oetomo, SMU
\n82, SMU Diponegoro, STM 1 PGRI and STM 11 PGRI.<\/p>\n
Students from the schools have frequently been involved in
\nstreet brawls, but they stuck together during the gathering.<\/p>\n
\"This time we do not want to fight ... Just because we're
\nteenagers does not mean we cannot contribute to this country's
\nstruggle for reforms,\" Emil Widodo of SMU Diponegoro said.<\/p>\n
Separately, the Indonesian Islamic Student Movement (PMII)
\nheld a peaceful street rally from Jl. Proklamasi in Central
\nJakarta to Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization's headquarters on
\nJl. Kramat Raya.<\/p>\n
They passed the Salemba campus and were greeted by the
\nstudents inside the campus with \"Long live reforms\".<\/p>\n
Under the blazing sun, the ebullient high school students ran
\nafter the PMII's students and joined the march. Their faces were
\ncovered with paint, which ran because of the heat.<\/p>\n
PMII held a media conference at Nahdlatul Ulama headquarters,
\nissuing a statement rejecting the use of religion for political
\ninterests, demanding an extraordinary session of People's
\nConsultative Assembly and rebuffing President B.J. Habibie's
\nCabinet in favor of what they termed a clean and just one.<\/p>\n
Other cities<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, students in many other cities shifted their
\nprotests Saturday to the new government. They said Habibie should
\nstep down and that former president Soeharto must be tried for
\nalleged abuses of power and human rights.<\/p>\n
In Medan, North Sumatra, about 2,000 students from Nomensen
\nUniversity, state-run North Sumatra University and Muhammadiyah
\nUniversity marched to the provincial legislative council.<\/p>\n
They called for the People's Consultative Assembly convene an
\nextraordinary session to seek Soeharto's accountability for his
\n32-year rule of the country.<\/p>\n
\"We demand total reform as soon as possible. We want a
\nrestoration of people's sovereignty,\" student leader Parasian
\nTampubolon said in his speech.<\/p>\n
The students also distributed free foodstuffs to three-wheeled
\nvehicle becak drivers and street sweepers, who have had to work
\novertime during widespread student demonstrations since February.<\/p>\n
In Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh, about 100 students ended
\ntheir occupation of the local legislative council building
\nyesterday after they received assurances from local officials
\nthat their demands had been heard.<\/p>\n
\"When you continue occupying this building the legislators
\ncannot work to channel your aspirations,\" Antara quoted Aceh
\nBesar military district chief Lt. Col. Awaluddin Basri as saying.<\/p>\n
In Bogor, West Java, about 200 students gathered at Pakuan
\nUniversity Campus and expressed distrust of the new Cabinet.<\/p>\n
\"The Cabinet must be free from corruption, collusion and
\nnepotism,\" said Agus Purwoko, a student of Bogor Institute of
\nAgriculture.<\/p>\n
Similar demands were also voiced by students in Semarang,
\nCentral Java. The transfer of power from Soeharto to Habibie on
\nThursday was also regarded as unconstitutional by the students.<\/p>\n
\"A collective leadership must be formed to prepare the
\nAssembly special meeting,\" they said in a written statement.<\/p>\n
In Purwokerto, Central Java, students from General Soedirman
\nUniversity denounced the Banyumas Military District chief Lt.
\nCol. Soeratno for allegedly pointing his pistol at the head of a
\ndemonstrator in a bid to disperse students last Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Students throughout the country held a massive street protest
\nto demand Soeharto's resignation on that day.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the university student senate Kundiyarto said in a
\nletter to Wijaya Kusuma Military commandant Col. Amirul Isnaeni
\n-- overseeing several regencies including Banyumas -- that
\nSoeratno's arrogant act had marred the good relations between
\nstudents and the military.<\/p>\n
\"We are very humiliated with his very repressive approach in
\nhandling our demonstration,\" Kundiyarto wrote in the letter dated
\nMay 23.<\/p>\n
\"He treated us like animals,\" said protester Saeful Amin.
\n(45\/21\/24\/har\/prb\/jun\/edt)<\/p>",
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