Five students wounded in protest

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: Several people were injured when some 500 students clashed with police during a protest in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), opposing calls for the inclusion of the Jakarta Chapter in the Constitution.

At least five students and some police officers sustained facial wounds, several of whom were taken to a nearby hospital for immediate medical treatment.

The clash started after the students' demand for talks with leaders of the province's Legislative Council was rejected, said Sr. Insp. Aleks Yohanis of the local police.

The protesters from several state and private universities in the province demanded that the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) reject calls for the inclusion of the Jakarta Charter, which obliges Muslims to uphold syariah (Islamic law), in the 1945 Constitution.

The protesting students urged the MPR, currently deliberating the constitutional amendment during its ongoing Annual Session, to ensure that the freedom of religion continue to be protected in the predominantly Muslim country.

"Jakarta Chapter No, Pancasila Yes," one banner read. Pancasila is Indonesia's state ideology. "If the Jakarta Chapter is included, NTT will declare independence," another banner read. --JP