More students on hunger strike for justice Adi
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)