One more detained following labor unrest
One more detained following labor unrest
SURABAYA (JP): Police detained yesterday student activist M.
Sholeh, bringing to three the number of people suspected of
inciting two massive labor demonstrations here earlier this week.
The first two students were Dita Indah Sari and Coen Husen
Pontoh, both activists of the Center for Indonesian Workers'
Struggle in Jakarta.
The three have been formally charged with masterminding labor
protests on Monday and Tuesday, which ended in clashes with
security officers.
Sholeh reportedly escaped when police were rounding up
activists from the streets during the first day of the
demonstration. He was found to have also been involved in the
following day's demonstration and was arrested.
After preliminary questioning, police released the student of
Wijaya Kusuma University's School of Social and Political
Sciences, but arrested him again later in the day.
Sholeh is an activist of Democratic People's Party
organization, and recently invited, without his rector's
permission, chairman of the Independent Election Committee
Goenawan Mohamad to address a seminar on his campus. The seminar
was dispersed by the police.
Sholeh and his two colleagues will be represented by top-notch
lawyer Trimoelja D. Soerjadi and others from the Surabaya Legal
Aid Institute.
"This is a matter of human rights. We're ready to defend
them," Trimoelja told The Jakarta Post.
Sources told the Post that the three will be charged with
violating articles 154 and 160 of the Criminal Code on disturbing
public order which carry maximum penalties of six and seven year
imprisonment respectively.
Chief of the Brawijaya regional military command Maj. Gen.
Imam Utomo earlier threatened to take the student activists to
court on charges of subversion, which carries a maximum penalty
of death.
Police have released 33 other students arrested during the
demonstrations.
The two demonstrations involved about 10,000 workers from 10
factories at the Tandes industrial estate in the southern suburb.
The workers demanded that their daily wages be raised to Rp
7,000 (US$3). The minimum daily wage for Surabaya, set by the
government last April, is Rp 5,200 (US$ 2.26).
The military have singled out student activists of the
Democratic People's Party as the prime movers of the industrial
strike. Most of the students were injured as the military
forcibly dispersed them.
Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Amir Syarifuddin described
the industrial strike as "very emotional". He said the
demonstrators meant to discredit the military.
"There is no need to take seriously what this small group of
people did. They have been antimilitary from the outset," he
said. (15/swe)