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)