Medan students protest by hanging themselves
MEDAN (JP): Fourteen students at St. Thomas Catholic University used a novel, albeit very dangerous, way to protest what they perceived as the government's sluggish handling of the economic crisis. They hanged themselves until they passed out.
If the government "failed to respond appropriately", one student threatened, he would immolate himself.
The students hung thick ropes from the third floor of their school building on Jl. Setiabudi, Tanjungsari, and arranged them in such a way so they hanged from both their torsos and their necks.
The students first undertook the dangerous protest on Oct. 1.
On the first day, eleven students were unconscious for four hours after hanging for 10 minutes. They were taken to Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.
One of the students, Anna Saragih, is still in the hospital after she joined the protest on Saturday.
Student leader Fransiskus Stars Sitanggang said he had just received a letter from students of the engineering school, saying he would douse himself with gasoline and set it alight if the government did not respond to their demands. He did not give any deadline.
Among the students' demands are lower food prices, the abolition of the Armed Forces dual function, the resignation of President B.J. Habibie, and national reconciliation.
Sitanggang said the school management neither objected to nor encouraged the protest.
Sitanggang said that all students who joined the act were aware and willing to accept the risks involved in the protest, including the possibility of death if the rope tore or was tied too tight.
Sitanggang, who hanged himself on the first day, said he now had headaches and was not feeling well.
Erita Harefa, 19, who hanged herself on Saturday, said she also had headaches. However, she said, she was not afraid of death.
The St. Thomas students have been involved in various student demonstrations since early this year. They have also performed hunger strikes and been involved in clashes with the military. (21/01)