Students stage rally in academic gowns<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Still wearing their academic gowns and carrying
\ntubes containing their diplomas, a group of 128 new graduates
\nfrom STMIK Indonesia computer college staged a rally at the Hotel
\nIndonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta on Saturday.<\/p>\n
During the peaceful midday demonstration, the graduates of the
\ncollege, which is located on Jl. Kyai Tapa in Grogol, West
\nJakarta, expressed hopes that all student demonstrations would
\nend peacefully.<\/p>\n
The group arrived at the roundabout at 12:30 p.m. and circled
\nit for 30 minutes to vent their frustrations before dispersing.<\/p>\n
\"This is spontaneous,\" said Sugeng, one of the new graduates.<\/p>\n
He said the rally had taken place with the approval of the
\nhead of the college.<\/p>\n
Some of Saturday's demonstrators were among the large group of
\nstudents that occupied the House of Representative's building in
\nMay, he added.<\/p>\n
The students called on the Armed Forces (ABRI) to return to
\nits basic role of making the country as safe place to live in.<\/p>\n
They voiced their strong support for peaceful reform and
\ncalled for former president Soeharto to be brought to court to
\nface charges of corruption.<\/p>\n
With graduations traditionally involving all the family,
\nparents and siblings joined in for the day to have a dig at the
\ncountry's political elite. Some doting parents even took
\nphotographs of their beloved offspring demonstrating against the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
\"There is my husband, Pak Haji, the big one over there,\" said
\na 40-year-old woman pointing at a man sitting by the fountain in
\nthe center of the roundabout.<\/p>\n
Before dispersing peacefully, the protesters sang songs,
\nincluding the favorite \"Hang, hang, hang Soeharto, hang Soeharto
\nat Taman Lawang.\"<\/p>\n
Taman Lawang is a renowned haunt of transvestites after dark.<\/p>\n
At noon on Saturday, 300 students from Trisakti University in
\nWest Jakarta marched from Proklamasi Monument toward Soeharto's
\nresidence on Jl. Cendana in Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
They pushed past a police cordon on Jl. Cikini before being
\nstopped by the military on Jl. Cut Mutia, not far from Jl.
\nCendana.<\/p>\n
They carried banners reading: \"Stop shooting and killing
\nstudents and people\", \"ABRI's weapons are bought with the
\npublic's money. They're not for killing students and people.\"<\/p>\n
\"The students did not inform us of their intention to stage
\nthe rally,\" said Central Jakarta Police deputy chief Maj. Ronnie
\nF. Sompie.<\/p>\n
Maj. Agus Sutomo, the commander in charge of security in the
\narea, commented: \"What's the use of visiting Soeharto's house? If
\nthey want him to be tried, they should wait for him to be
\nquestioned at the Attorney General's Office next week.\"<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in the city, 400 students from STAN administration
\ncollege in Jurangmangu, South Jakarta, and Jayakarta vocational
\nschool in West Jakarta attempted to reach the House of
\nRepresentatives on Jl. Gatot Subroto, but were stopped below the
\nTaman Ria flyover, about 500 metres short of their objective.<\/p>\n
\"What are you going to do there anyway? The house is empty.
\nIt's Saturday. Don't you have any boyfriends and girlfriends to
\ngo and meet?,\" a police officer named Agus asked the students, to
\nwhich one replied: \"We go on a dates while protesting, Pak.\"<\/p>\n
The students said they simply wanted to remind members of the
\nHouse that they must fair in passing bills governing next year's
\ngeneral election.<\/p>\n
Separately, representatives of dozens of universities in Java,
\nBali, Sumatra and Sulawesi established the Universities' Network
\nfor Observing the General Election in Jakarta on Saturday.<\/p>\n
In their statement, the representatives said the network would
\nfocus on monitoring the process of the general election, which is
\nscheduled to be held on June 7 next year. (ivy\/edt\/bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/students-stage-rally-in-academic-gowns-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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