Student protests continue over Ujungpandang incident<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Students in Jakarta, Bandung and Ujungpandang
\nmounted their demand yesterday for court action on military's
\nhandling of last week's rioting in the South Sulawesi capital.<\/p>\n
They denounced the way the military handled the April 22
\nprotest on a 67 percent transport fare raise that led to the
\ndeath of three students in Ujungpandang.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, more than 100 students from various universities
\nmarched to the House of Representatives, demanding that top Armed
\nForces (ABRI) leaders should also be held responsible for the
\nincident.<\/p>\n
Under the watchful eyes of dozens of anti-riot police and
\nplainclothesmen, they carried a mock corpse wrapped in a white
\nlinen into the House foyer.<\/p>\n
They waved banners, read statements condemning the use of
\nforce, chanted anti-violence slogans and sang patriotic songs
\nwhose lyrics were twisted to suit their mood.<\/p>\n
\"Were they drowned or shot?\", a banner read, alluding ABRI
\ngeneral affairs chief Lt. Gen. Soeyono's claim that the three
\nUjungpandang students died after they leaped into a river to
\nevade arrest.<\/p>\n
House members from the ABRI faction refused to meet them after
\nthe protesters insisted that all of the demonstrators be allowed
\nto take part in the discussion.<\/p>\n
They unloaded their anger at the incident on three House
\nmembers from the ruling Golkar party who volunteered to
\naccommodate their protests.<\/p>\n
The demonstrations in the three cities occurred despite a
\npeace agreement that representatives from Ujungpandang students,
\nthe military, universities, religious figures, community leaders
\nand government officials reached on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The document states that all breaches of the law will be dealt
\nwith legally without use of force, expresses regret about the
\ndeaths and injuries, and calls for restraint from all sides.<\/p>\n
It also guarantees that anyone, including security officers,
\nwho allegedly violated the law will be brought to court.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. Soeyono has said that the security officers moved
\ninto the campuses on April 22 to bring back order after
\nprotesters went on a rampage. He alleged that the protestation
\nwas masterminded by a third party who wanted to see chaos.<\/p>\n
ABRI and the National Commission on Human Rights have
\nconducted separate investigations into the incident that
\nreportedly caused injuries to hundreds of students and left
\nsubstantial material damage.<\/p>\n
The commission's secretary general Baharuddin Lopa proposed
\nthat the bodies of the three students be exhumed for autopsy to
\nfacilitate legal proceeding.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, about 300 students from the state Padjadjaran
\nUniversity demonstrated their sympathy to their Ujungpandang
\ncolleagues and their anger at the military's alleged use of
\nforce.<\/p>\n
The heavy presence of security officers managed to contain the
\nprotest within the campus. Protesters scuffled with anti-riot
\npolice who blocked their way out of the campus.<\/p>\n
In Ujungpandang, hundreds of students from seven universities
\nmassed on the Universitas 45 campus in a show of sympathy for
\ntheir dead fellows.<\/p>\n
Clad in their college jackets, the students said they were not
\nentirely happy with the Wednesday's agreement. They urged ABRI
\nleadership to speed up their investigation into the incident.<\/p>\n
Like their colleges in Bandung, they also failed to go down
\nthe streets after the university's management managed to persuade
\nthem to confine their protest inside the campus.<\/p>\n
Calm had returned to Ujungpandang yesterday as public buses
\nwere in operation as usual. (pan\/20\/17)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/student-protests-continue-over-ujungpandang-incident-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}