Students protest in various cities<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Students took to the streets of many cities for
\nvarious reasons on Thursday, with Jakarta witnessing at least two
\nlarge rallies focusing on President B.J. Habibie.<\/p>\n
In Depok and Bogor, two towns south of Jakarta, student
\nrallies also occurred -- both demanding the abolition of the
\nArmed Forces (ABRI) dual-role doctrine which enables it to play
\nboth security and political roles.<\/p>\n
Other student protests took place in the West Java capital of
\nBandung, the Central Java capital of Semarang, the North Sumatra
\ncapital of Medan, and in Yogyakarta where a group of Indonesian
\nIslamic University (UII) students managed to enter and convince
\nthe state-owned RRI radio station to broadcast their statements.<\/p>\n
Most of the protests demanded immediate action to end people's
\nsuffering caused by the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, about 4,000 people demonstrated in support of
\nHabibie on Thursday, a day after the government warned it would
\ntake stern action against anyone found guilty of subversion or
\nsecession.<\/p>\n
Two hundred police peacefully blocked the group from marching
\nto the House of Representatives from a nearby sports ground in
\nSouth Jakarta. The demonstrators dispersed after they got to
\nwithin 200 meters of the legislature.<\/p>\n
Separately, at the University of Indonesia campus in Central
\nJakarta, 3,000 students protested and blamed Habibie for the
\ncontinued economic crisis and accused the military of human
\nrights abuses.<\/p>\n
The student leaders called on university students in other
\nprovinces to join the series of demonstrations, which started at
\nthe beginning of the month. Also attending the rally were the
\nchairman of an association of the university's alumni, Hariadi
\nDarmawan, and economist Sri Edi Swasono.<\/p>\n
The protesters at the prestigious college called on the
\npowerful Armed Forces (ABRI) to leave politics and concentrate
\nsolely on national defense.<\/p>\n
Free speech<\/p>\n
In Bogor, a group of 25 local students who called themselves
\nthe Coalition of Antimilitarism People (Koramil) held a free
\nspeech forum in front of the Kujang monument on Jl. Pajajaran,
\nwhere they voiced their demand that the military's involvement in
\npolitics be brought to an end.<\/p>\n
\"With the dual-role concept as its excuse, ABRI has placed its
\npeople in the legislatures, as vice president, ministers,
\ngovernors, company commissioners, regents and others. With its
\nweapons, the military assisted capital owners to appropriate
\nfarmers' and common people's land,\" activist Deni said.<\/p>\n
In Semarang, dozens of students who called themselves the
\nStudents for Justice held a demonstration outside the provincial
\nlegislature, demanding the government take immediate action to
\nend the crisis that has caused thousands of children to go hungry
\nand remain neglected on the streets.<\/p>\n
\"Please help poor children from going hungry,\" said the
\nstudents in a banner they unfurled while marching within the
\ncomplex. The students also protested the fact that thousands of
\nchildren had to drop out of school because their parents could no
\nlonger afford to keep them there.<\/p>\n
\"What will happen? We'll have ill-health and stupid younger
\ngenerations,\" Sumartono said. \"Stop officials' wasteful trips --
\nboth local and abroad -- and use the money to feed the children.\"<\/p>\n
In Yogyakarta, at least 400 students of the Indonesian Islamic
\nUniversity marched from their campus to the radio station and
\nheld a demonstration there.<\/p>\n
Their leaders managed to convince the station to broadcast
\ntheir statement, which was relayed by five commercial stations.<\/p>\n
The students demanded that former president Soeharto be taken
\nto court and his wealth confiscated to finance the government's
\nprograms to restimulate the economy and assist the poor.<\/p>\n
They also demanded that ABRI be barred from politics.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, hundreds of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)
\nstudents gathered at their campus, pledging to initiate an open
\nsociety as the result of total reform.<\/p>\n
Rector Lilik Hendrajaya said that as the pioneer, ITB would
\nturn its campus into a learning society. \"Hopefully, this will
\nencourage the growth of an even wider open society,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The faculty also recommended the establishment of the ITB
\nReform Council, whose task would be to convey the campus'
\naspiration on reform to national forums. The body would be manned
\nby members of the campus who were independent from the
\ninstitute's management. (24\/23\/43\/44\/har\/swe)<\/p>",
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