Who's who behind the demonstrations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The past few months have witnessed the rise of a
\nnew crop of student leaders. Below are the views of just a few of
\nthem from universities and colleges in Medan, Ujungpandang,
\nSurabaya, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung and Greater Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Ridaya La Ode Ngkowe, chairman of the student senate at Gadjah
\nMada University (UGM). Ridaya, born in Banggai, Central Sulawesi,
\nin 1974, organized the largest student demonstration this year on
\nMarch 11, when about 25,000 students from various universities in
\nYogyakarta participated. An effigy of President Soeharto was
\nburned, an unthinkable act just several months before.<\/p>\n
He cited the similar students' demands across the country:
\nchange in the national leadership, the abolishment of five
\npolitical laws blamed for maintenance of the status quo, and the
\nenactment of a law against nepotism, corruption and collusion.
\nAnd, also, \"simply, bring down prices\".<\/p>\n
He added that students wanted a peaceful movement, and hoped
\nconfrontations with security personnel would not be repeated.<\/p>\n
\"We try our best to avoid confrontation ... yet we still want
\nto involve as many people as possible in our movement.\"<\/p>\n
He claimed that more people from various walks of life had
\njoined demonstrations in Yogyakarta -- including housewives,
\ncivil servants, teachers, and street singers.<\/p>\n
\"I'm convinced that when the masses (joining rallies) get
\nbigger, ABRI will chose to join the people because they are also
\npart of the people.\"<\/p>\n
Ridaya said his activities worried his family, especially his
\nmother, who never had the opportunity for a formal education.<\/p>\n
\"I always try to convince them that I will be very careful.\"<\/p>\n
He said several intelligence agents monitored the
\nboardinghouse where he stayed. He said several of his friends had
\nalso warned him of his possible kidnapping by unidentified
\npeople. \"But I believe that this country is based on law.
\nTherefore, there should be nothing to worry about ... \"<\/p>\n
M. Tafrikhan Marzuki, chairman of the student senate at
\nDiponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java. Tafrikhan, son
\nof a Semarang farmer, is majoring in public administration at the
\nSchool of Social and Political Sciences.<\/p>\n
Security officials have often questioned him on his background
\nand his family, said Tafrikhan, who claimed he was \"ready to face
\nall risks\".<\/p>\n
His family, especially his father, supports his activities
\nprovided he is acting in the interest of the people, he said.<\/p>\n
The student, who is also secretary of the Central Java chapter
\nof the Association of Moslem Students (HMI), said he and fellow
\nstudents demanded that the People's Consultative Assembly
\nconvene a special plenary meeting to demand accountability from
\nPresident Soeharto over the crisis.<\/p>\n
He said that because the House of Representatives was
\nvirtually \"dead\", \"there is no other choice than for students to
\ntake a lead in demanding reforms\" of the system and its leaders.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Muhibbuddin, chairman of the student senate at Syarif
\nHidayatullah State Institute of Islamic Studies, Jakarta. Ahmad,
\nborn in Pasuruan, East Java, is a student at the institute's
\nSchool of Theology (Ushuluddin), majoring in the interpretation
\nof Prophet Muhammad's sayings (hadits).<\/p>\n
Ahmad said the student movement should continue to be a moral
\nmovement, not a political one, until there was a really capable
\ncandidate to succeed the President.<\/p>\n
For now, \"... It would be naive for us students to shift our
\nmovement to a more political orientation\".<\/p>\n
Even if a \"people's power\" movement were realized, he said, it
\nwould be useless if there was a vacuum of national leadership.<\/p>\n
He said students would continue to consolidate among
\nthemselves to prepare for \"the right time\".<\/p>\n
Of the loose forum of student representatives in Greater
\nJakarta called Forum Jakarta, Ahmad said there was a conscious
\ndecision to have no coordinator at the helm.<\/p>\n
\"We do not want to make the same mistakes the 1966 student
\nmovement made, namely creating elite figures who eventually held
\nelite political positions like ministerial posts and denied the
\naspiration and mission of their own movement,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Elvi Sumanti, general secretary of the student senate at
\nSumatra Utara University (USU) in Medan and editor-in-chief of
\nthe university's tabloid, Suara USU (USU's Voice). Eli, who was
\nborn in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, 1973, is a student of USU's School of
\nLetters.<\/p>\n
Eli was one of the representatives who rejected an invitation
\nto attend a dialog with Minister of Defense\/Armed Forces
\nCommander Gen. Wiranto on April 18 in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Students shared ABRI's view that reform must take place
\ngradually, she said, but saw no possibility for a solution to
\nemerge from such a dialog.<\/p>\n
\"The most important of our demands for reform is the moral
\nissue related to nepotism, collusion and corruption,\" Elvi said.<\/p>\n
As students, she said, \"we want to be in the front line to
\nstate our stance on the crisis ... we are in chaos ... we need
\nimmediate change and improvement.\"<\/p>\n
USU has been involved in mass student actions since March 10,
\nand Elvi says they have made an impact, although the violence was
\nunintended.<\/p>\n
\"There has been a response to our voice, at least in the form
\nof the invitation to the dialog,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Elvi, a daughter of a retired civil servant, suggests that
\nsecurity officers should shoot into the air to avoid more
\naccidents.<\/p>\n
\"If students are only yelling and not being provocative, why
\nthe shooting?\" asked Elvi. Tear gas and clubs already cause
\nsufficient pain, said Elvi.<\/p>\n
M. Nur Alamsyah, chairman of the student senate at Hasanuddin
\nUniversity (Unhas) in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi. He is a
\nstudent at the university's School of Political and Social
\nSciences, studying public administration.<\/p>\n
Alamsyah and other Unhas students flatly rejected an offer of
\na meeting with Commander of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command
\n(Kostrad) Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto when the latter visited Ujung
\nPandang recently.<\/p>\n
Alamsyah said this was because students did not have much
\nconfidence in the Armed Forces and the government, \"who were both
\ntrying hard to maintain the status quo.\"<\/p>\n
He said demonstrations were ignited by the crisis, which were
\n\"by-products of the New Order's zealous economic development\"
\nwhich disregarded both equitable distribution of wealth and
\nefforts to introduce democracy.<\/p>\n
Therefore, he said, student protests now centered on demands
\nto reform the governing system which had been based on power
\nrather than law.<\/p>\n
Students also demanded that the People's Consultative Assembly
\nconvene a special plenary meeting to change the country's
\nleadership.<\/p>\n
\"We demand all these things take place within two to six
\nmonths. If not, we will increase pressure further,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gede Mahendra, general secretary of the Family of Student
\nActions at the University of Indonesia (UI), and a student in its
\nschool of social and political sciences.<\/p>\n
Gede observes the sense of crisis has yet to spread evenly
\namong his fellow students.<\/p>\n
He said the exclusive nature of demonstrations, which have so
\nfar involved only students, should be maintained \"until UI
\nstudents were ready\" to go out onto the streets and encourage
\npeople to join their movement.<\/p>\n
Gede said that many people were aware of what was happening
\nand had already decided whose side they were on, but had yet to
\nexplicitly reveal their support.<\/p>\n
Students needed to consolidate so that their movement would
\nnot be aborted in the middle of their struggle, he said.<\/p>\n
He recalled the movement of 1974 when student leaders were
\narrested, the massed body dispersed and no further action
\nfollowed.<\/p>\n
\"I don't want my friends yelling along the streets and people
\nwatching us like a parade without understanding what we're doing
\nit for,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gede said there were two objectives to be attained from
\nprotests. Reform was the short term objective while \"the long
\nterm objective was to provide public political education.\"<\/p>\n
Anas Urbaningrum, chairman of the Association of Moslem
\nStudents (HMI). He graduated with honors from the School of
\nSocial and Political Sciences, Airlangga University, Surabaya.
\nAnas, born in Blitar, East Java, in 1969, is now a postgraduate
\nstudent at the UI's School of Social and Political Sciences. He
\nrecently organized a dialog between HMI students across the
\ncountry and government officials at the Taman Mini Indonesia
\nIndah.<\/p>\n
Anas said the current demonstrations were still at an
\nembryonic stage and were not yet a moral force after such a long
\nperiod of political apathy on university campuses. \"It's a
\nrebirth, but it has yet to mature.\"<\/p>\n
He said the movement would become larger as awareness of the
\nobjectives of reform grew, as strong leadership emerged among
\nstudents, and as alliances with other groups were formed.<\/p>\n
Alliances would depend on political and economic developments,
\nhe added. \"It also depends on students' ability to explain to
\nother groups that reform is a must.\"<\/p>\n
If student demands, such as the revocation of the package of
\nfive laws on politics, are not fulfilled in a year, Anas said
\nstudent demonstrations would become larger.<\/p>\n
\"People power\" might emerge if feelings accumulated but were
\ngiven no obvious outlet, he added.<\/p>\n
To become effective, Anas said students should get support
\nfrom other groups, especially the Armed Forces.<\/p>\n
History, he said, has shown that student movements of the
\n1970s and 1980s failed because of a lack of support from ABRI,
\nwhile the 1966 movement succeeded due to military help.<\/p>\n
\"Support from ABRI has not yet been secured, while endorsement
\nfrom other groups have only been in the form of moral support
\nsuch as that offered by Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah (both
\nlarge Moslem organizations).\"<\/p>\n
Anas said the government would never be able to stifle student
\nprotests through dialog.<\/p>\n
\"It's not effective. I think there is a political motive
\nbehind it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Anas said HMI would continue to press its 260,000 members
\nacross the country to join demonstrations to demand thorough
\neconomic, political and legal reforms.<\/p>\n
\"We want systemic reform. A change of a person in charge might
\npush for democratization. But I do not believe that if Soeharto
\nis replaced today, there would be democracy and reform of the
\npolitical mechanism.<\/p>\n
Widdi Aswindi, secretary-general of the student task force at
\nthe Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), West Java. He majors
\nin planology. ITB is one of the few universities in the country
\nwhich do not recognize the concept of student senates as
\nstipulated by government regulations.<\/p>\n
Widdi said ITB students always wanted to \"conquer\" public
\nspaces. He explained this was why they wanted during every
\nprotest to march outside where \"people should be free to interact
\nwith one another\".<\/p>\n
Widdi urged his friends and other activists to study even
\nharder \"to show that an activist should not necessarily perform
\npoorly\". He said his grade point average was always above a 3 on
\na scale up to 4.<\/p>\n
Haryo Setyoko, secretary-general of the newly formed Coalition
\nof Indonesian Moslem Student Movements (KAMMI). Haryo, born in
\nKaranganyar, Central Java, in 1975, is a student at UGM's School
\nof Social and Political Sciences, majoring in communications.
\nKAMMI, formed in Malang, East Java, on March 29, has organized
\nmassive student demonstrations in Jakarta, Bogor in West Java,
\nMalang and Surabaya in East Java, Solo and Semarang in Central
\nJava and Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Haryo said, through demonstrations, students grouped in KAMMI
\nwanted to contribute a fresh perspective, based on Islamic
\nteaching, for better political and economic life.<\/p>\n
The New Order government \"has made a big mistake by allowing
\nliberal principles to dominate the economy\" without limits on the
\ncontrol of assets by the privileged, he said.<\/p>\n
The political system, which he likened to \"a monarchy\" without
\nfeatures of a modern state containing balancing mechanisms,
\nshould also be corrected.<\/p>\n
Haryo, a son of a high school teacher, also said KAMMI wanted
\nto stress the importance of moral reform to reduce corruption,
\nnepotism and collusion. He added that such messages would use
\npeaceful means.<\/p>\n
\"We will never force anyone to accept our view, but we will
\ncontinue to be a pressure group in the absence of significant
\nreforms.<\/p>\n
\"We will keep giving political enlightment to the people. But
\neverything will depend on when they want reforms to happen.\"<\/p>\n
Haris Rusli Moti, chairman of the Committee of People's
\nStruggle for Reform (KPRP). Moti, born in Ternate, Maluku, in
\n1975, is a student in UGM's School of Letters, majoring in
\narcheology. KPRP was set up in a rally at UGM attended by about
\n2,000 students on April 2, which ended up in a clash with
\nsecurity personnel. Eighty-eight students were reportedly
\ninjured.<\/p>\n
Moti said KPRP was established to involve as many people as
\npossible in the student movement and to use the \"golden moment\"
\nto promote democracy.<\/p>\n
\"The people must be involved because so far protests are still
\nconfined with student labels and tend to be an elite movement.\"<\/p>\n
Moti said KPRP used a step-by-step strategy: marketing the
\nissue of democracy, mobilizing people for demonstrations and
\nhelping coordinate the setting up a \"reform council\" consisting
\nof \"pro-reform parties\".<\/p>\n
\"This reform council will form a transition committee,
\ndissolve the House of Representatives, and conduct a democratic
\ngeneral election to form an independent House.\"<\/p>\n
The new House would initiate total reforms, he said.<\/p>\n
When people already have increased understanding of their
\npolitical rights and the need for democratization, it would be
\neasier for KPRP to mobilize them to join student protests, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said gradual reforms, as promised by the government, would
\nfail to solve the crisis of confidence.<\/p>\n
Dadan Suparjo, chairman of the student senate at Airlangga
\nUniversity in Surabaya. Born in March 1974, the calm-looking
\nDadan was among the activists who agreed to attend the dialog
\nwith 15 ministers in Kemayoran, Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"The dialog was not an aim, but just one way to convey our
\naspirations. The talks were lively but ministers were wavering in
\ntheir responses. There was no similarity in language and
\nperception,\" said the student who hails from Ciamis, West Java
\nand is majoring in political science.<\/p>\n
\"Economic reform cannot be separated from political reform,\"
\nhe said. Students' demands should be responded to without
\nprejudice, \"more so in a time when both domestic and
\ninternational confidence in the government is low.\" (team)<\/p>",
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