Juwono urges students to follow demo rules

Juwono urges students to follow demo rules

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Juwono
Sudarsono charged on Thursday that students had failed to abide
by the Law on Freedom of Expression, thus causing dozens of
injuries in a clash that occurred during their protest against
the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
on Wednesday.

The minister said on Thursday the law binds security personnel
to protect the rights of demonstrators to voice opinions, as long
as students demonstrate in a peaceful, orderly manner.

Juwono said that demonstrations should not lead to any damage
to public facilities, disturb traffic or put public safety in
danger, adding that student leaders should have abided by the
law, in particular Article 11.

"It states, among other things, for student leaders to report
to the police if they plan a demonstration involving more than
100 demonstrators," Juwono said.

"The student leaders should have known that the more people
there are on the streets, the less controllable they become,"
Juwono said.

Wednesday saw thousands of protesters taking several streets
in the city.

"If this goes on, violence on a bigger scale could happen.
This could include the city's residents, poor people, looters and
hoodlums. In such a situation, we will not be able differentiate
one from the other," Juwono said.

"Remember that people who take to the streets, whether
security officers, bystanders or demonstrators, are all human and
have feelings," Juwono said. "It is very easy to provoke people
in such tense situations and for people to lose control."

"Nobody wishes for a repetition of the May riots. There are so
many who would exploit the situation... as in the May riots. In
the end, it would be the people who suffered a great loss."

Meanwhile, thousands of students in various cities continued
on Thursday with their protests against the Special Session. In
Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, students from various
universities marched and eventually occupied the provincial
legislative council.

The students were outraged when Hasrul Azwar, a deputy speaker
of the provincial council, representing the United Development
Party (PPP) did not allow them to enter the building.

Hasrul defied police advice to open the doors for the
students, saying the demonstration did not have a prior permit as
required in the law on Freedom of Expression.

The students told Hasrul they planned to camp there while
waiting for the results of the Special Session.

"What if I say no?" he teased the students.

The students then ran amok and damaged 22 cars near the
building and smashed the building's windows soon after Hasrul
said," If the council has decided to reject you, you are not
allowed to come in".

Hasrul and his colleagues tried to flee but were foiled
because the students had been quicker and closed the gates.

"We do not intend to take them hostage. We just want them to
harmonize their vision with ours," said Muadin, a student of
Sumatra Utara University. A police officer was slightly injured.

In Surabaya, East Java, hundreds of students also demonstrated
in front of the Grahadi gubernatorial building. They also went to
RRI in the city and demanded the state-owned radio broadcast
their demands live. The radio broadcast their demands some hours
later because the station head came late to office.

"Soeharto's mistakes are unforgivable," they said.

Meanwhile, Wiwien, a student of Airlangga University, was
rushed to hospital on Thursday after she became unconscious
following her hunger strike.

In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, hundreds of Hasanuddin
University students marched along the city's major streets. They
shouted antigovernment slogans, and even yelled "Free Sulawesi".

They attacked Soeharto but not President B.J. Habibie,
apparently because he is a native of South Sulawesi. They even
condemned people who often use the acronym SDM, or All From
Makassar. "The term humiliated us," read one of their posters.

Students and opposition groups use the acronym to criticize
Habibie for his alleged tendency to promote people from the
province. (ylt/nur/har/21/prb)