Tension rises in student demonstrations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police in Lampung fired warning shots and tear-
\ngas at about 3,000 stone-throwing students who staged a
\ndemonstration demanding sweeping reform and lower prices of basic
\ncommodities yesterday, a student leader said.<\/p>\n
Mahendra Utama, a law student at the state-run Lampung
\nUniversity in the provincial capital of Bandarlampung, some 350
\nkilometers northwest of Jakarta, said 60 protesters were arrested
\nin a scuffle after hundreds of riot police entered the campus.<\/p>\n
At least two warning shots were fired and three volleys of
\ntear gas were released, Mahendra told The Jakarta Post in a
\ntelephone interview yesterday.<\/p>\n
Lampung Police Chief Col. Gendro Budi Santoso confirmed that a
\nprotest had taken place on the campus.<\/p>\n
He also confirmed that 60 arrests were made, but declined to
\nsay how many students the police estimate to have been involved
\nin the protest.<\/p>\n
\"They are only detained for identification,\" Gendro told the
\nPost.<\/p>\n
In the East Java capital of Surabaya, some 500 students of the
\nAirlangga University staged a demonstration demanding reform and
\na review of the new cabinet.<\/p>\n
Security personnel closed off the main street in front of the
\ncampus and several armored vehicles were maneuvered into place.<\/p>\n
Also in Surabaya, some 50 students attempted to march from the
\nSurabaya office of the Indonesian Islamic Students Movement to
\nthe local legislature. Police blocked their way and the students
\ndispersed.<\/p>\n
In East Jakarta, some 300 students from the private Jayabaya
\nUniversity demonstrated against remarks made by Minister of
\nEducation and Culture Wiranto Arismunandar. He recently described
\nstudents who dabbled in politics as \"amateurs.\"<\/p>\n
Around 200 other students watched the protest. There was tight
\nsecurity in front of the campus.<\/p>\n
In South Jakarta, around 400 students from the National
\nInstitute of Science and Technology held a rally demanding lower
\nprices and political reform.<\/p>\n
The students marched out of the university but police blocked
\ntheir advance onto a nearby main road. There was no incidents.<\/p>\n
Similar protests were staged yesterday by students of the
\nSebelas Maret University in Surakarta, Central Java, and the
\nUdayana University on the outskirts of Denpasar, Bali.<\/p>\n
University students have stepped up the pressure on the
\ngovernment for reform and immediate action to solve the economic
\nwoes.<\/p>\n
Clashes with security forces in West, Central and East Java
\nearlier this week left dozens of students injured.<\/p>\n
Separately, Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie
\nSjamsoeddin warned the students of \"infiltration\" by certain
\nparties. He named the outlawed Democratic People's Party as among
\npossible agent provocateurs.<\/p>\n
He said a police raid on an East Jakarta apartment last week
\nfound a document which suggested the party had been devising ways
\nof drawing students off campus sites.<\/p>\n
The Armed Forces have so far tolerated rallies on campus sites
\nbut promised to take stern action against those trying to take
\ntheir protests onto the streets.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty (PDI), Megawati Soekarnoputri, said yesterday that the
\ngovernment should engage in dialog with critics, including
\nstudents, in response to calls for reform and clean governance.<\/p>\n
She appealed to the military not to repress the student
\nprotests.<\/p>\n
\"The students should be given access and opportunity to
\nexpress their opinions,\" she said. \"They should be invited to
\ndiscussions. They shouldn't be arrested or beaten for expressing
\ntheir concerns about the current political and economic
\nsituation.\" (nur\/09\/28\/har\/imn\/byg)<\/p>",
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