City military chief advises students to shun protests

JAKARTA (JP): City Military chief Maj. Gen. Wiranto advised Jakarta students on Saturday to stay away from politics so that they can better serve public interest with innovative, concrete work.

The public wants to get to know students through their findings and innovations, not through their political yelling, their street demonstrations or their destructive moves, he said.

"The academic freedom should be understood as the freedom to muster science and technology which is useful for the public at large," he said.

Wiranto made the remarks when addressing a congress of Kosgoro Students. His paper was presented by Col. Tyasno Sudarto, his assistant in charge of socio-political affairs.

Various student groups in Jakarta have been actively involved in numerous non-governmental organizations, which are often critical of the government.

Kosgoro is one of the four military-backed organizations which founded the ruling Golkar party in 1964.

The "academic freedom" concept has so far been interpreted differently by students, intellectuals and the government.

Freedom

Many students believe that the freedom should include that to express their opinions about social problems, including criticizing the government.

Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro has always argued that academic freedom should be used only in academic context and should not be used for practical purposes.

Academic freedom became polemic again this year after Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman announced that the government had set up a special team to look into the regulation on gathering permits.

A senior official at the education and culture ministry recently said that people do not need to obtain permits when they hold academic gatherings on campus.

Law

Under Indonesian law, a public gathering involving more than five people needs a permit from the authorities. The policy has increasingly come under fire.

Wiranto appealed to students to help the government safeguard the stability of Jakarta and support the development of the nation.

According to Wiranto, students should become partners in development efforts.

He argued that if students position themselves as partners in development, they will not form an "opposition group" to the government.

"If that is the case, there won't be opposition. There won't be any attack against the government and brutality will have no room," he said. (29)