Rights official meets Ujungpandang students<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The secretary-general of the National Commission
\non Human Rights, Baharuddin Lopa, tried yesterday to bring calm
\nto Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, where student protests of
\ngovernment-decreed bus fare hikes have officially left three
\npeople dead.<\/p>\n
"There has to be a consensus so the learning activities of the
\nstudents can be resumed," Lopa said during talks at
\nUjungpandang's Wirabuana military headquarters, which were
\nattended by student representatives, military officials and
\ncollege administrators.<\/p>\n
The city-wide protest began on April 23, two days after the
\ngovernor decreed a 66 percent hike in public transportation
\nfares. Ordinary mini bus fares were increased from Rp 300 (13
\nU.S. cents) to Rp 500, with students fares set at Rp 200.<\/p>\n
Students argue that in practice, the special fares for them
\nhave never been enforced and that they usually end up paying the
\nregular fares.<\/p>\n
During the three-hour meeting, the students aired their
\ngrievances along with complaints about the way security forces
\nhandled the demonstration.<\/p>\n
Lopa expressed his hope that the grievances would be settled
\nin a peaceful manner.<\/p>\n
Separately at the South Sulawesi provincial legislature, about
\n100 public mini bus drivers demanded that the fare increases go
\ninto effect immediately.<\/p>\n
In the wake of the protest, the governor has suspended the
\nfare hike.<\/p>\n
As reported by Antara, the drivers were met by speaker Alim
\nBachrie and his deputy Nurdin Mappewali.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Jakarta, more than 50 students from the local
\nchapter of the Islamic Students Association yesterday staged a
\nnoisy demonstration against the military's use of force in
\nquelling the demonstrations in Ujungpandang.<\/p>\n
The banner-waving students expressed their anger with the
\nArmed Forces (ABRI) faction at the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
In the House foyer, they took turns chanting slogans and
\nreading poems denouncing the military's harsh actions.<\/p>\n
"The use of violence is unacceptable. ABRI must punish its
\nmembers who failed to obey standard procedures," the students
\nsaid in a written statement.<\/p>\n
The Armed Forces headquarters in Jakarta has promised to
\ninvestigate the incident in which thousands of students from
\nvarious universities in Ujungpandang took to the streets.<\/p>\n
There have been different versions of the number of
\nfatalities, from the official account of three to the students'
\nclaim of six along with about 60 students injured.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. Soeyono, chief of ABRI's general affairs, has
\nrepeatedly said the three died because they plunged into a river
\nnear the Moslem University to evade security officers. He claimed
\nthat the three could not swim.<\/p>\n
The angry Ujungpandang students blocked streets and vandalized
\npublic mini buses, or pete-pete, and police motorbikes before
\npolice officers and troops managed to control the situation.<\/p>\n
South Sulawesi military district chief Brig. Gen. Fachrul Razi
\nsaid on Monday that two students have been detained for carrying
\na machete and burning vehicles at the time of the riot.<\/p>\n
House member Sadiman from the ABRI faction told the protesters
\nyesterday that they should not doubt the Armed Forces' promise to
\ninvestigate the riot.<\/p>\n
The ABRI faction has refused the students' demand to set up an
\nindependent team to investigate the incident, saying that the
\nABRI team can handle it alone.<\/p>\n
Student Eko Kuntiadi questioned why security officers entered
\ncampuses and vandalized the college's equipment as they scoured
\nthe campus looking for protesting students.<\/p>\n
"We heard that security officers destroyed one laboratory and
\nbadly damaged a lot of equipment. I was wondering if that is
\nstandard procedure in handling a protest," he said.<\/p>\n
His colleague Esa Setiawan criticized ABRI's leadership in
\nJakarta for their slow response to the incident, which was widely
\ncovered by local and international media. (pan\/mds)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rights-official-meets-ujungpandang-students-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}