Dozens of students hurt in Yogyakarta riot

YOGYAKARTA (JP): At least two dozen students had to be treated in hospital after police forced their way on to the University of Gadjah Mada campus in Yogyakarta to break up a protest rally involving thousands of students yesterday.

Firing shots, 100 riot police riding in armored vehicles and on motorcycles entered the compound to break up the demonstration.

According to the coordinating post at the university, two dozen students had to be treated in Panti Rapih General Hospital and Sardjito General Hospital.

Many had to be treated for wounds inflicted by rubber bullets. According to witnesses, at least three students received serious eye injuries.

The clash began earlier in the day when students held a protest demanding reforms and condemning the death of four students in Jakarta. Students were forced back onto the campus by security forces after they filed out onto the street.

Undaunted, the students began pelting the police with stones.

Over the weekend several public facilities in the city were wrecked when protests turned violent. A bystander was killed after being struck on the head with a blunt object. Witnesses said he was beaten up by security officers.

Yogyakarta Police chief Col. Bani Siswono said 60 protesters had been detained. But students who reported the incident to the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute claimed the police had made at least 150 arrests.

The scuffle lasted for over two hours and calmed down only after riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters.

Last night the situation in the city remained tense and the campus was under tight security.

In Bandung, West Java, nearly 100,000 students staged a peaceful sit-in at Gedung Sate, the center of the provincial administration and the provincial council.

All main streets in the provincial capital became heavily congested when the students marched from their campus to Gedung Sate in the city center.

The students, escorted by security personnel, came from a number of higher education institutes, including Bandung Institute of Technology, University of Padjadjaran, Parahyangan University, Pasundan University and the State Teachers Training Institute.

The students demanded the Armed Forces conduct a thorough investigation into the deaths of the students in Jakarta during a meeting with the provincial council.

The speaker of the provincial legislature Nurhaman told students the government had reacted positively to their movement.

In Bogor, West Java, thousands of students staged rallies and joint services to pray for those killed yesterday.

Meanwhile, Bogor police sub-precinct continued their investigation into the death of a police officer and the beating meted out to another during a demonstration last week.

Col. Abubakar Nataprawira, chief of the police precinct, said three of five students believed to have been involved in the death had been detained. Two other suspects and three youths believed to have been involved in the beating case have yet to be apprehended.

Lt. Dadang died and another officer was injured during a demonstration at Djuanda University in Ciawi last week.

In Surabaya, East Java, around 2,000 students marched three kilometers from their campus to the provincial council building, where they held a joint service to pray for the four slain students.

Besides condemning the tragedy, the students also urged the Armed Forces to join their movement for reform.

In Medan, North Sumatra, a fact finding team from the National Commission on Human Rights held a meeting at the governor's office with rectors from 10 universities and institutes as part of investigations into recent rioting in the city which claimed two lives.

Team member Syamsudin said that a student from the State Teachers Training Institute (IKIP) was still missing. The newly- appointed provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Sutyono and Northern Sumatra Military Commander Maj. Gen. Ismed Yuzairi both said they had yet to receive reports on the missing student.

Fifty six of 544 students arrested during the disturbance are still in Medan police custody. (21/23/24/44/45/nur/har/swa/rms)