Gandhi can starve, not students: Wiranto

Gandhi can starve, not students: Wiranto

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Wiranto
Arismunandar said students should not emulate Mahatma Gandhi by
staging hunger strikes to express their grievances.

"Let Gandhi go on hunger strikes. You're not Gandhi!" Wiranto
said referring to the renowned Indian leader who advocated
peaceful means, among them hunger strikes, to fight colonial
oppression.

"Hunger strikes make you go hungry. This is not acceptable
because it's detrimental to your health," Wiranto was quoted by
Antara as saying Saturday.

Dozens of students are currently staging hunger strikes at
several universities in Java and Sumatra to express their concern
over the economic situation and demand immediate governmental
reforms.

All of the protests carry a common and urgent message: Curb
the rising prices of essential goods.

But Wiranto seemed indifferent to the methods the students
were pursuing to express their grievances.

Wiranto's comments followed a meeting Saturday with leaders
and members of the Consultative Board for Indonesian Private
Universities.

The hunger strikes are part of a series of almost daily
student demonstrations at university campuses demanding reforms
to address the economic crisis.

Wiranto is no stranger to controversy with students and has a
history of standing up to campus protests. While being a rector
of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in West Java,
Wiranto's administration expelled no less than 66 students,
including 11 subsequently jailed, after they organized a protest
against the visit of a cabinet minister.

Wiranto was ITB rector from 1989 to 1997. (byg)