88 injured in student demonstrations

88 injured in student demonstrations

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The continuing wave of student protests
reached new heights yesterday when thousands of youths tried to
march off their campuses here and clashed with security
personnel, leaving 88 injured.

Similarly tense student demonstrations also took place in the
West Java capital of Bandung, the Central Java cities of Semarang
and Purwokerto, the East Java capital of Surabaya, Maluku capital
of Ambon, and Pontianak in West Kalimantan. In Jakarta, hundreds
of students of 10 universities assembled in two separate, noisy
protests at the Nasional University and August 17 University.

Yesterday's spate of demonstrations marked the first time in
the past two months that students left the confines of their
campuses to take their protests to the streets. The Armed Forces
(ABRI) had previously said the military could accept on-campus
protests but that it would not tolerate students staging off-
campus demonstrations.

In Yogyakarta, hundreds of Gadjah Mada University students
began marching at 9 a.m. from the School of Social and Political
Sciences toward the Yogyakarta legislative council, yelling
slogans criticizing the government. They were soon joined by
hundreds of street singers, vendors and activists from political
organizations.

A group of about 100 riot police and troops barricaded the
campus, stopping the students from leaving the grounds.

Student numbers soon swelled when hundreds of high school
students joined the noisy demonstration. Security personnel were
similarly reinforced, their numbers increasing to about 500.

At 11 a.m., hundreds of students from the Indonesia Arts
Institute arrived on the scene, bringing the number of the
protesting group to nearly 2,000.

A minor scuffle broke out an hour later, prompting riot police
to charge at students with batons. The students retaliated by
throwing stones and insulting the security personnel.

After another half an hour, police shot tear gas into the
crowd, forcing the students to recoil and flee. The protesters
took revenge by overturning a police car during the ensuing
chaos.

"This is for interfering on our campus," the students yelled.

The melee died down at about 2 p.m., with security personnel
withdrawing from the university grounds.

A first aid unit staffer at the campus, Agus Medianto, said 60
students were injured, 17 seriously. Another 26 protesters were
hospitalized in nearby Panti Rapih Hospital, while two more
students received stitches in the head at Dr. Sardjito Hospital.

Student leader Haris Rusly Moti said three protesters were
missing, but Yogyakarta Police chief Col. Bani Siswono said there
were no arrests.

Gadjah Mada rector Ichlasul Amal regretted the incident and
pleaded against further violence.

A separate demonstration was also held at the Yogyakarta State
Institute for Islamic Studies, involving some 3,000 protesters.
They were barred from leaving the campus by hundreds of security
personnel.

In Purwokerto, 2,000 students from five colleges assembled at
the state-run Gen. Soedirman University where they yelled slogans
critical of the government. Hundreds of security personnel
surrounded the campus.

The students later struggled to break up police barricades in
order to march to the local legislative council. Minor scuffles
broke out and some officers started to wave their batons toward
the students.

Banyumas Police chief Col. Eddi Karnadi sent reinforcements to
surround the campus. The students eventually settled down and
held a free speech forum instead, with speakers blasting rampant
corruption and collusion and demanding reform.

In Surabaya, separate demonstrations were held at the November
10 Institute of Technology, Airlangga University and August 17
University campuses. Over 400 students were involved in the
demonstrations.

Some 100 students of the local August 17 University left their
campus, guarded by only three police officers, and marched along
Jl. Semolowaru carrying posters and yelling slogans critical of
the new cabinet.

In Semarang, Central Java, about 100 students from both
private and state-run universities staged a demonstration at the
August 17 University campus. "Eliminate nepotism, collusion and
corruption from Indonesia," the students said on one of their
posters and banners.

The students also demanded that the government lower the
prices of basic commodities and bring to justice businesspeople
whose speculative activities plunged Indonesia into economic
crisis.

In Pontianak, West Kalimantan, students from Tanjungpura
University also marched off their campus toward the provincial
legislative council and the local branch of the ruling Golkar
group, according to Antara.

In Bandung, West Java, hundreds of students from the Bandung
Institute of Technology held an on-campus demonstration listening
to fiery speeches from, among others, alumna Karlina Leksono-
Supelli.

In many of the demonstrations, students said they rejected the
invitation of Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto to a dialog,
citing an unclear format and a unilaterally established agenda.
Many of the students said they wanted to hold a dialog with
President Soeharto instead. (23/45/nur/43/har/swe)