Rural sociologist dead at 62

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Sociologist and advocate for the poor Loekman Soetrisno, 62, died of a suspected heart attack on Friday.

Known for his research on rural conditions in Java, the professor from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta collapsed at about 2:30 p.m. at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, said the university's public relations officer, Soewarni.

He was taken to the airport's medical center but died later.

His driver said that Loekman appeared healthy when he dropped him off at Yogyakarta's Adi Sucipto Airport in the morning. "He called home at 1 p.m.," he said.

Loekman left for Jakarta to see off his son-in-law, Douglas Vincent Tinge, who was to return to his home in Canada, Soewarni said.

He also attended a meeting at the Central Jakarta office of the United Nations Development Program. He then departed for the airport to catch the flight to Yogyakarta.

The burial is scheduled at 2 p.m. at the university's cemetery on Saturday. His body will be laid in the main hall of the university before burial.

He is survived by his wife Tuti, a son, Agus Suyitno, and a daughter, Kadirah Lukitasari.

Gadjah Mada University rector Ichlasul Amal said Loekman was a vocal and consistent advocate for the poor.

"He also conducted various concrete programs for villagers. And his nonpartisanship was what I admired most," Ichlasul said.

Loekman headed the university's Center of Rural and Regional Research and Development since 1994 and taught social history at the university. He also was an advisor to the safety net program.

The graduate in rural sociology from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, wrote several books on poverty and women, agriculture and democracy.

"We face a great loss," Ichlasul said. "He was always a spokesman for us from the societal point of view." (44)