Soeharto asks students to vote
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto asked Indonesian students yesterday to vote in the May election and help make next year's presidential election a success.
Speaking at his office before 98 rectors of private universities, the President said the two five-yearly elections needed a peaceful atmosphere to succeed.
"Students and youths in general share responsibility for enhancing political stability and success through their participation in both the election and the People's Consultative Assembly meeting," Soeharto said.
The rectors are attending a course at the National Resilience Institute.
An election's success can be measured by public participation. Participation in all six previous elections has been over 90 percent.
About 120 million Indonesians are eligible to vote on May 29 to elect 425 of the 500 members of the House of Representatives. The government has decreed that only the United Development Party (PPP), the dominant Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) may contest the general election.
The 1,000-member People's Consultative Assembly will convene next March to deliberate the Guidelines of State Policy and elect a president and vice president for 1998 to 2003.
Students, who have protested widely for democracy, are feared to be among those who will boycott the election.
A survey of 1,000 Yogyakarta students last year shows that 60 percent of them will boycott the polls. A survey by the Indonesian National Youth Committee in Malang, East Java, early last month said that 85 percent of youths in the region would boycott.
Soeharto said that general elections were part of a national consensus to maintain Pancasila democracy and its applications.
"The election will serve to prove the public's faith and consequently their conduct over democratic principles," Soeharto was quoted by Antara as saying.
In Yogyakarta yesterday, about 400 students of Gadjah Mada University demonstrated for the third day running to protest "security authorities' invasion" of their campus.
M. Nurizal, chairman of the university's student senate, said: "Their actions (to quell previous demonstrations) were a form of harassment and humiliation to our autonomy."
Yesterday's peaceful demonstration was not dispersed by police. But on Tuesday they arrested 24 students, calling themselves supporters of the ousted PDI leader Megawati Soekarnoputri. The students were released Wednesday.
Eight other students were arrested Wednesday and are facing charges of inciting people to boycott the election. (23/amd)