Five hunger strikers hospitalized

Five hunger strikers hospitalized

JEMBER, East Java: Five of eight students from state Islamic
college STAIN were rushed to the hospital on Tuesday to be
treated for dehydration. The students had been sitting a hunger
strike for four days.

The hospitalized students are Saiful Haq, Muhasin, Edy
Susanto, Achmad Hamzah and Arik Eko Purwanto.

"My friends and I will go on with this protest until our
demand is understood by the school," said Abdul Hamid,
coordinator of the hunger strike. His condition had also
deteriorated by the fifth day of the strike, and he looked pale
and weakened.

The eight students started began the strike on Thursday in
protest, demanding that three deputy rectors resign for their
alleged involvement in on-campus corruption.

The protest came after the STAIN rector was dismissed by the
Minister of Religious Affairs for his suspected involvement in
the misuse of funds allotted for lecturers' professional
development programs. -- Antara