Stern measures urged against student regiments<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representative urged city military
\nauthorities yesterday to take stern measures against university
\nstudent regiment members who terrorize students detained at a
\npolice station.<\/p>\n
"They thronged the police station and asked police to "lend"
\nthe detained students to them as they apparently wanted to take
\nrevenge. It was terrifying," Legislator Sukowaluyo Mintohardjo
\nsaid during a meeting with a six-member delegation at the House.<\/p>\n
The delegates, who claimed to be representatives of the Action
\nFront of Indonesian Students (FAMI), criticized the government's
\n"reluctance" to ban the regiments.<\/p>\n
As reported last week, 12 students from the Nature Lovers
\nAssociation (Himpala) of the National University have been
\ndetained at the South Jakarta police precinct since Thursday for
\nallegedly burning an in-house command post of the university's
\nstudent regiment on Oct. 18, which eventually sparked a bloody
\nclash.<\/p>\n
The clash was apparently a continuance of an earlier dispute
\nbetween a Himpala member and some regiment members on Oct. 14 and
\nthe damaging of the in-house Himpala secretary by unidentified
\nparties the next day.<\/p>\n
Two members of the delegate, Christina Siswayuni, 20, and Ida
\nLestahulu, 21, both students of the university, told House
\nmembers yesterday that the regiment members had kidnapped two
\nrock-climbing enthusiasts from a youth center on Oct. 14 and left
\nthem unconscious on a street in Pulo Mas, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Christina said that both victims currently under medical
\ntreatment at the Fatmawati hospital in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"The regiment members are still after the other students,"
\nLestahulu added.<\/p>\n
FAMI groups a number of students, of whom 21 were jailed last
\nyear for defaming President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Revocation<\/p>\n
Arifan Syafe'i, the spokesman of the delegate, asked
\nSukowaluyo, also the vice chairman of the House commission for
\neducation affairs, to revoke a three-minister decree which
\njustifies the existence of the regiment.<\/p>\n
"Its bad side outweighs its good side," Syafe'i said, adding
\nthat Indonesia is not in a state of emergency.<\/p>\n
He said that Himpala supporters burned the command post
\nbecause they could not stand the humiliation any longer.<\/p>\n
Syafe'i was supported by Reza, 24, one of the 12 detainees.<\/p>\n
Speaking with reporters at the South Jakarta police precinct
\nyesterday, Reza said that the burning and damaging of the
\nregiment command post on Oct. 18 was purely a spontaneous move by
\nthe Himpala members and their supporters.<\/p>\n
Reza strongly believed that the Himpala post was damaged by
\nmembers of the regiment as witnessed by two female students.<\/p>\n
In a related development, the South Jakarta police admitted
\nthat they have not yet questioned any parties allegedly involved
\nin the first incident near the campus which caused injury to a
\nHimpala member who immediately reported the case to the nearby
\nPasar Minggu police subprecinct.<\/p>\n
"It's not easy to call the students for questioning but we'll
\ninitiate it as soon as possible," said head of the crime
\ninvestigation unit.<\/p>\n
According to the 12 students' lawyer, R. Akbar Lubis, the
\npolice should have taken immediate action after receiving the
\nfirst report in order to avoid a fatal impact.<\/p>\n
He has been also informed by other members of the Himpala that
\na number of regiment members were seen gathering around their
\nhouses in the past few days.<\/p>\n
"It seems to me that they are terrorizing the other Himpala
\nfellows," he told reporters yesterday.<\/p>\n
Akbar urged the City Coordinating Agency for National
\nStability (Bakorstanasda Jaya) to take immediate action against
\nthe regiment members before further chaos. (09\/bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/stern-measures-urged-against-student-regiments-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}