Police halt student protest

YOGYAKARTA: Police dispersed yesterday a student demonstration for press freedom five minutes after it started.

The demonstration which had been planned since Nov. 2, involved about 30 students from Gadjah Mada University, Syariah Banking Institute, Sanata Dharma University, and the Indonesian Islamic University.

It was a show of solidarity for what the students called the "the oppressed press of Indonesia."

The students handed out leaflets to spectators about the 1994 bannings of the Tempo, Detik and Editor news weeklies, and the recent revocation of the recommendation for D&R magazine's chief editor by the Indonesian Journalists Association. The recommendation is needed for a publication to be printed. (30/26)