Protesters reject govt intervention

Protesters reject govt intervention

SEMARANG, Central Java: About 100 students from various
provinces demonstrated yesterday against government-sponsored
Student Senates in their universities.

They demanded that the senate be abolished and students be
allowed to revive the once powerful Student Council, which is
free from external intervention.

In the demonstration at Diponegoro University, they also
demanded that students be given the freedom of organization as
guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution.

Spokesman for the demonstrators Ichwan AR said that students
from various universities across the country have formed a
committee to be in charge of preparing for the formation of
Student Councils in their respective schools.

The government banned Student Councils following the massive
student rioting in Jakarta in 1974, which was known as the
January Calamity, in which demonstrators vandalized public
facilities and burned cars. Some senior government officials were
implicated in the incident. (har/pan)