City military chief advises students to shun protests
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)