C. Java military steps into conflict on Arief's dismissal

SALATIGA, Central Java (JP): The military has warned teachers of the Satya Wacana Christian University not to use students to dramatize their opposition against the controversial dismissal of their fellow teacher, Arief Budiman.

Chief of the Diponegoro Military Command Maj. Gen. Soeyono, who oversees security in Central Java, insisted that teachers at the university should be "independent and responsible".

"Dismissal is not unusual. It's like an employer who has to fire his reckless driver and find a better substitute," he told reporters.

Soeyono's warning was the latest development in the controversy over the dismissal of Arief, an outspoken American- educated sociologist also well-known as a government critic. Arief also spearheaded opposition to the recent election of the university's rector which he said was "undemocratic."

The university's management said Arief had ignored various warnings since 1988, including his recent article in a Jakarta newspaper critical of their leadership.

His dismissal has met strong opposition from many students and teachers in and outside the prestigious university. Demonstrations demanding his reinstatement have been the order of the day since Monday.

Soeyono said that students and teachers of the university must not use techniques like street demonstrations in the name of democracy to press their demand.

"The problem is strictly between Arief Budiman and the university management," he said.

Meanwhile, support for Arief has been streaming in from many quarters. In Pekalongan, 100 kilometers west of Semarang, 150 alumnae of the university threw their support behind his plan to sue the rector for dismissing him.

Similar support also came from the Jakarta-based Pijar (Glow) foundation for information service. It said in a statement that his dismissal amounted to an anti-democratic act.(har/pan)