Ban on student politics 'has no legal basis'

JAKARTA (JP): The recent government ban on students engaging in on-campus political activities has no legal basis, observers said yesterday.

Loebby Loqman, Awaloedin Djamin and Salim Said told The Jakarta Post in separate interviews that they have never heard of any laws prohibiting students from involvement in political activities on university campus sites. They added that if such a decree was made, it would certainly have no legal basis.

Minister of Education and Culture Wiranto Arismunandar last week banned students from engaging in "practical politics" and warned that stiff sanctions, including expulsion, awaited those who violated the ban.

"What is 'practical politics'? The term is vague. I do not see any legal grounds on which the government can prohibit students from becoming involved in political activities," Loebby, who lectures at the University of Indonesia law school, said.

When asked what he meant by "practical politics", Wiranto was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday that it would be up to individual rectors to decide.

Awaloedin, former National Police chief and a lecturer at the Advanced Police Training Institute (PTIK) and Pancasila University, concurred and said the government should explain the ban to the public. It should also specify the legal grounds upon which it has been introduced, and state why and when the ban was issued, so that people can respect and abide by it, they argued.

Salim, a military observer, also questioned the legal basis for the ban. He said that this was the first time that students had been banned from involvement in political activities.

"Students have the right to express their concern over what is happening in society," Salim, a former student activist who organized demonstrations that helped topple the Old Order government in 1966, said.

More than one hundred people have been injured, dozens of students arrested and several reported missing following rallies which degenerated into violent clashes between students and security personnel in Bandarlampung in Lampung, and in Yogyakarta and Surakarta, Central Java.

The three experts agreed with the police assertion that campus sites were Indonesian territory and therefore security forces were entitled to enter and carry out their duties.

"Despite a tradition of special authority, campuses are not sterile and police are allowed to enter if they see crimes being committed," Awaloedin said.

Loebby and Salim said police should not ban protesters from going onto the streets to air their grievances, provided they did so peacefully.

Responsibility

Meanwhile, prominent Moslem leader Abdurrahman Wahid said he understood student concern over the Indonesian economic and political situation, but warned their movement could lead to destructive anarchy.

The chairman of the 30 million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) organization said student demands for reform were understandable because change was needed in various fields.

"The rallies are an expression of their responsibility as members of the young generation," he said in a statement read out by NU Secretary-General Arifin Junaidi yesterday.

Abdurrahman, also known as Gus Dur, has recently been released from hospital following treatment for a stroke suffered in late January. An astute political observer, his comments are highly sought-after by journalists. Yesterday's written statement saved him from having to talk to the media directly.

Abdurrahman lamented yesterday that many student demonstrations showed they were losing their intellectual credentials.

"The student movement is more emotional than rational, and signs of destructive anarchy have started to appear," he said. (rms)