Peaceful demonstration is allowed: President Soeharto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto says the government will not
\nban any street demonstrations, but stressed that all public
\nprotests will need a police permit to ensure orderliness and
\nminimize the likelihood of destructive behavior.<\/p>\n
\"What the government bans is destructive actions, not the
\ndemonstrations,\" Soeharto said when hosting recipients of
\nscholarships from the Supersemar Foundation he chairs.<\/p>\n
The President said people need an official permit to hold a
\ndemonstration and guaranteed the authorities will approve all
\nprotests so long as they have good intentions.<\/p>\n
He said the government would punish those who incite violence
\nby raising sensitive issues such as religion and race. \"All
\ncitizens are equal before the law as the 1945 Constitution
\nguarantees and the non-indigenous deserve equal protection,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Critics and some student groups have charged that the Soeharto
\n\"New Order\" administration is intolerant of criticism. Many
\nstudents have been put in jail for demonstrating.<\/p>\n
Student demonstrations played an important role in helping
\noust President Sukarno's \"Old Order\" administration in the mid-
\n1960s.<\/p>\n
Stability<\/p>\n
Soeharto has effectively curbed street demonstrations on the
\npretext that national development, which focuses on the economy,
\nneeds stability.<\/p>\n
\"Demonstrating is all right but it should not violate rules
\nand never turn to violence,\" he said. He added that it would be
\ndifficult to control a street rally involving hundreds of people.<\/p>\n
He said he worried that if not properly controlled, street
\nprotests may be used by \"third parties\" who do not want to see a
\nstable Indonesia.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Soeharto addressed the 20th anniversary of the
\nSupersemar Foundation which opened a national congress for
\nstudents and alumni who received scholarships from the Supersemar
\nFoundation at Taman Mini Indonesia Park.<\/p>\n
The President said that it would take more than one generation
\nto develop vast multi-ethnic Indonesia and that there are simply
\nno shortcuts to success. \"The Indonesian experience shows that we
\ncan make the basis for economic take-off only after 25 years of
\ncontinuous hard work,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said the best the government could do to increase the
\nyield from development is to increase the pace of the process.<\/p>\n
\"We need quality human resource to do that,\" he said in the
\nceremony in which Vice President Try Sutrisno was also present.<\/p>\n
He added that some countries which have quality human
\nresources can develop their nations very well although they have
\nlimited natural resources.<\/p>\n
221 graduates<\/p>\n
The Association of Supersemar Scholarships Recipients plans to
\ntrain 221 graduates to work as volunteers to help administer
\ngovernment aid under the Presidential Scheme for Poor Villages.<\/p>\n
The President said despite success in economic development, of
\nthe about 65,000 villages across Indonesia, 20,633 are still
\npoor.<\/p>\n
Since its establishment in 1975, the Supersemar Foundation has
\nprovided scholarships to tens of thousands of students, including
\npost graduates.<\/p>\n
The scholarships were initially offered to students whose
\nparents were killed or missing in the military operation to
\nliberate West Irian (now renamed Irian Jaya) in the 1960s.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said the facilities will also be provided for
\nstudents whose parents were killed or missing during Operation
\nSeroja to liberate East Timor in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
He said Supersemar scholarship recipients are expected to
\nbecome entrepreneurs, but they will receive top priority if they
\nwant to serve as civil servants. (pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/peaceful-demonstration-is-allowed-president-soeharto-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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