Muladi told to conceptualize substance of students dialog

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto said yesterday that he was serious in his commitment to a dialog with students and instructed Minister of Justice Muladi to make the necessary arrangements.

"The President said the dialog was very important. He asked me to conceptualize the method and substance of the dialog", Muladi told reporters after meeting President Soeharto at his residence on Jl. Cendana, Central Jakarta.

Soeharto said last week that he would gladly talk to the students, especially if they could offer suggestions on how to boost development. The President, however, suggested that the students should talk to relevant ministers and officials before meeting with him.

A dialog initially set for Saturday between students and the Minister of Defense and Security Affairs/Armed Forces Chief Gen. Wiranto was canceled after students from the country's top universities refused to attend.

Students rejected the offer, saying that the format for the dialog had been prearranged by the military and pro-government groups, and without the students' involvement.

State Minister of Public Housing and Settlement Akbar Tandjung said he regretted the students' decision yesterday.

"The students should not have neglected the opportunity because the Armed Forces were willing to take the initiative and talk to them," he said.

Akbar shared the President's opinion that the students should meet with relevant ministers and government officials before seeking discussions with the President.

Meanwhile, acting chairman of the Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI) Achmad Tirtosudiro warned the students about outsiders' attempting to influence and interfere with their actions.

"Student aspirations should remain pure and free from outside influence," he said.

Waves of rejection of the ABRI-initiated dialog continued to be heard from student groups yesterday.

A communication forum for student senates from 26 Surabaya universities issued a joint statement yesterday saying they rejected the proposed dialog.

"We would like to channel our aspirations through the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)," Teguh Agung Budi Utomo, coordinator of the forum, said as quoted by Antara.

He said the forum also demanded the Assembly act as mediator in any a dialog between the government and the students.

Chief of the Armed Forces Staff and Command School, Lt. Gen. Arie J. Kumaat, said in Bandung, West Java, yesterday that he would be ready to act as a facilitator in the dialog should the Armed Forces headquarters ask him.

"It is our duty to hold a dialog with students and activists from non-government organizations," he told reporters.

Rector of the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, Ichlasul Amal, also said that he would be ready to act as a mediator in the proposed dialog.

"The students want a neutral mediator. In my opinion, only academics can be neutral mediators," he said.

He said that he could understand why students from his university had rejected the dialog.

Student protests continued yesterday, despite the Armed Forces offer to help settle the crisis through dialog.

Five hundred students from the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) staged a protest on their campus in Yogyakarta denouncing acute corruption, collusive practices and business monopolies.

The Institute's rector I Made Bandem and soothsayer Permadi Satrio Wiwoho also participated in the demonstration.

"ISI leaders are behind all of you," Bandem said.

However, he asked students to suggest solutions to the monetary crisis as well as criticize the government. (prb/imn/23/43)