Peace reached in Makassar

Peace reached in Makassar

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): The tension between the
students of the state Islamic Institute (IAIN) Alaudin and
Governor HZB Palaguna ended on Thursday after Palaguna apologized
for the chaos triggered by civil servants during the students'
demonstration against the fuel price hike.

The "peace" was followed by an agreement by the governor and
IAIN rector Abdul Muin's to establish a joint team to control
commodity prices at markets.

The meeting between the students and the governor was held at
the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) building.

Palaguna said in the meeting that protesting the fuel price
hike was understandable. "But the problem is that the increase in
price of other goods, including food items, is out of our hands.
This will be burdensome to the people."

Rector Muin Salim, who promised to step down if Palaguna
refused to apologize to the students, said that the joint team
would soon carry out surveys and operations to monitor prices of
goods sold at the markets.

Meanwhile, student demonstrations continued peacefully in
Makassar on Thursday.

Iswari Al Farisy, a student figure, said a dialog between the
central government and the South Sulawesi administration on the
fuel price hike was badly needed.

"There must be a compromise in the dialog to avoid further
uproar," he said, explaining that the South Sulawesi people were
firm in their rejection of the fuel price hike while the
(central) government can't go back on its decision.

The students' demonstration had turned violent on Tuesday and
Wednesday when students and civil servants clashed. (27/sur)