Indonesian university students reborn as a political force
Indonesian university students reborn as a political force
By Ignatius Haryanto
JAKARTA (JP): In the past few weeks student protests on
university campus sites have been widely reported in the media.
The protests were held to demand political and economic reform to
end the monetary crisis. Some went as far as to demand a new
president.
Protests began at the end of last year, when Gadjah Mada
University students published mock election results held on the
campus. Ninety percent of the ballot papers returned refused to
reelect Soeharto for the 1998/2003 period. Protests and
demonstrations were also held at universities in Bandung,
Jakarta, Purwokerto, Kudus and Surabaya.
Students voiced concern over the grave economic and political
situation, which they believe has left the people of Indonesia
without hope. Price increases, missing goods, a weak and volatile
rupiah, corruption, collusion and special privileges for select
cronies of the government all came under vociferous attack.
In fact, a number of the issues raised in this wave of protest
are recurrent grievances which have been the cause of past
demonstrations. Past generations of students protested against
corruption in 1971, excessive Japanese investment in 1974 and
Soeharto's leadership in 1978.
The fact that these issues resurfaced might indicate that
student movements have become stronger after a lengthy period of
hibernation enforced by a drive to depoliticize higher education
after 1978.
It is interesting to note that student protests were last seen
exactly 20 years ago in 1978. That wave of protests ended when
the military sent armored vehicles onto the sites of the
University of Indonesia and the Bandung Institute of Technology.
In the aftermath of this incident, students were educated in
an apolitical atmosphere under the semester credit system (SKS).
This new system pushed them to finish their studies in the
shortest possible time, effectively paralyzing student concern
for events in society at large.
Those who wanted to remain politically active had to take
their soap-boxes of the campus. They established study groups and
social worker groups which later evolved into non-government
organizations (NGOs) in the early 1980s.
The activists then consolidated their strength and formed
small committees without university affiliations, which they used
to present their advocacy on a number of community issues, such
as power tariff increases in 1988 and problems with land
compensation in West and Central Java.
A well known case involving these committees centered around
the World Bank funded Kedung Ombo dam project in Central Java.
Displaced villagers received meager compensation for the land
they had lost, however the dam project went ahead, despite
intense international pressure.
By the end of the 1980s student movements were becoming
increasingly radical. Then, in December 1993, 21 students were
arrested following a protest outside the House of
Representatives' building.
Thereafter, launching protests away from campus sites became a
common tactic. When on-campus protests were revived at the
University of Indonesia last month, it indicated a reverse in
this trend, possibly due to the tight security measures currently
in place.
Interestingly, students and alumni cooperated in the protests.
Lecturers at the Bandung Institute of Technology, for example,
had previously aired objections to Soeharto's reelection. This
new development needs further observation.
It is clear that students, which for years were scorned as
toothless, have again shown their fangs. Attempts by the
government to depoliticize Indonesian campus sites do not appear
to have been effective. A number of factors may have contributed
to this state of affairs.
Student thinking has evolved through political socialization
which they received from their seniors.
In addition to this, the taught curriculum no longer offered a
critical perspective on the current situation and in doing so
failed to satisfy a thirst for knowledge. Some lecturers may have
answered this demand for a wider perspective by going beyond the
bounds of the curriculum. Driven by a political dynamic, the
students eventually moved out to face reality.
Socialization among students themselves has also led to
awareness of the realities in their communities. Sharing
experience with their classmates proved to be a political
education far more readily digestible than formal lectures.
Megawati's ousting from the leadership of the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI), the jailing of members of the outlawed
Indonesian Democratic Party (PRD), the heavily engineered general
election and the denial of public information and expression are
the real lessons which this generation of students have digested.
These experiences have helped them to make a very clear
distinction between black and white, good and bad, noble and
rotten. With this ability, information presented in the media
became a reality upon which judgments could be made in accordance
with their own political experience. Choices on a course of
action can then be made. One choice pertains to taking action.
The students' are concerned about the political environment.
The behavior of the authorities has continuously declined and is
now intolerable.
Students embody the collective aspirations of society. They
are the fortunate individuals who have gone on to further
education and who have an important role in the future of the
country. It is therefore fitting that they show concern in a time
of crisis.
Systematic steps taken by the establishment to silence the
student voice seem to have failed. That they have, and that the
student community continues to harass the government, only shows
the gravity of the situation which we currently face.
The writer is chairman of the Institute for the Study of the
Press and Development.
Window: Systematic steps taken by the establishment to silence the
student voice seem to have failed. That they have, and that the
student community continues to harass the government, only shows
the gravity of the situation which we currently face.