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)