More students on hunger strike for justice Adi

JAKARTA (JP): Six Lampung University students began a hunger strike yesterday in a show of support for justice Adi Andojo Soetjipto' efforts to rid the Supreme Court of corrupt practices.

The students are also attempting to dramatize their opposition to what they see as the government's meddling in the internal affairs of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).

With strong sympathy from fellow students, they erected tents in front of the law school buildings, where they held up banners, read statements and sang songs critical of the government.

The strikers were representing student activists grouped in the Committee of Students for Democracy and Against Collusion, Antara reported.

The hunger strike is another example of the moral support for Adi that has been snowballing since Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono revealed that President Soeharto was considering Chief Justice Soerjono's request to fire the whistle-blowing justice.

Several students supporting Adi have also gone on a hunger strike at Jenderal Sudirman University in the Central Java town of Purwokerto.

The Lampung students are demanding that the Supreme Court thoroughly investigate the charges brought by Adi and that the results be announced publicly.

They support proposals to replace Soerjono with Adi Andojo, even though the latter has made it clear he has no ambition to become chief justice.

"We demand that Soerjono graciously and responsibly step down," a spokesman for the student group said.

The six students who vowed to go on hunger strike indefinitely are Badri Yusuf, Habiburahman, Idhan Dj, M. Ridho, Fanny and Ricky. They come from different schools.

Student activists said the number of striking students might increase or decrease depending on the situation.

On Monday, the Kompas newspaper published its survey results in which 76.2 percent of its 1,023 respondents in Jakarta agreed with Adi's cause. Only 10.7 percent did not.

As for Soerjono's insistence that Adi be sacked, 8.6 percent agreed, 73.5 percent disagreed and the rest had no comment. In addition, 65.1 percent of the respondents disagreed with the Supreme Court's recent findings that there was no collusion on the court, compared with only 9.5 who believed the report.(pan)