ABRI starts dialog with critical groups

BANDUNG (JP): The Armed Forces (ABRI) made good on its recent offer yesterday by opening a series of dialogs with critical groups in a bid to settle the monetary crisis and answer growing calls for reform.

A delegation led by Armed Forces Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held a closed-door meeting with 25 leading figures of West Java universities in Bandung.

He was accompanied by West Java Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djamari Chaniago and the member of the ABRI commander's staff in charge of political affairs and security, Maj. Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah.

Susilo said he found out during the four-hour meeting, at which no students were present, that some students were still "allergic" to the Armed Forces' dialog proposal.

"It's the students' right to reject our invitation for a dialog," he told reporters after the meeting.

He expressed regret, however, over the students' stance, saying that ABRI did not have any bad intention with its invitation.

"The dialog should be understood as a forum to absorb the people's aspirations and to treat differences on an equal footing," he said.

"It should not be understood as an effort to quell people's actions," he added.

Jakarta Regional Military Commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin expressed his belief that students who had demonstrated and at times had been involved in clashes with security personnel were indeed demanding political and economic reform.

"We have held dialogs with students from a number of both state-run and privately owned universities and student organizations. What they really want is that the government should immediately settle the monetary crisis," he told reporters Tuesday evening.

A senior military member, Gen. (ret.) Soemitro, expressed support yesterday for the students' movement but warned them not to get involved in violence as it would only create an "emergency."

The former chief of the now defunct Internal Security Agency said: "In an emergency, a physically strong leader, but without strong intelligence, might appear and take control of the situation."

He said it was now not the appropriate time to ask President Soeharto to step down.

The nation "really needs him to lead the country through the prolonged monetary crisis," he said, adding that only an experienced leader like Soeharto was up to the job of leading a country in crisis.

He said he would have supported calls for a presidential change had they been voiced some 15 years ago when the country was in good condition and the political atmosphere conducive to reforms.

A sociology professor of the University of Indonesia, Selo Sumardjan, expressed confidence yesterday that the students would continue their demonstrations until their demands for political and economic reforms as well as price reductions of basic commodities were met.

Selo, a former vice presidential secretary turned supporter of the student demonstrations, said the students were disappointed with the results of the recent General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly, which, in their opinion, failed to redress the pains of society caused by the economic crisis.

"The Assembly has been insensitive to the people's aspirations," he told The Jakarta Post.

Political observer Emha Ainun Nadjib said yesterday the student protests would fail if they neglected other elements in society.

"There should be a synergy between the students and other elements in society ... to establish a people's power (movement)," he told participants at a discussion at the Surabaya-based Airlangga University's School of Law.

Despite the start of the dialogs, students continued their protests yesterday.

Students at the state-run Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta, the Teachers' Training Institute in Semarang and the Institute of Islamic Studies in Sukohardjo, as well as the Academy for Tax Administration and the Slamet Riyadi University in Surakarta all staged protests.

Most of the demonstrations were held peacefully within the campuses. Violence, however, occurred at the Sebelas Maret University where some 2,000 students threw stones at security officials, who responded by firing tear gas at the students.

Thirty-nine students were overcome by the tear gas and at least two others suffered other injuries. A member of staff at emergency unit of the town's Muwardi Hospital said five of the injured students were admitted to the unit.

In Medan, North Sumatra, some 100 students from the State Institute of Islamic Studies staged similar protests yesterday, demanding a review of the new cabinet and conflict-free political reform. (ahy/byg/09/21/riz/har/nur/imn)