Muladi told to conceptualize substance of students dialog
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)