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)