Ban on student politics 'has no legal basis'

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.
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