Soeharto awards for Gus Dur and Marzuki

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid and Attorney General Marzuki Darusman are among some of the recipients of the second ignoble "Soeharto Awards" from the University of Indonesia's (UI) Student Executive Council.

Abdurrahman won in two categories in the student poll -- for failing to eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) and for maintaining the status quo.

Marzuki was chosen in the anti-law supremacy category.

Former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief and minister of defense and security Gen. (ret) Benny Moerdani won in the antihuman rights category.

According to the council's president, M. Taufik Riyadi, 650 University of Indonesia students participated in the poll.

About 30 UI students marched to Merdeka Palace to present the 40-centimeter-high trophies to the President on Wednesday. However, as the President was abroad and no palace officials were available to accept them, the students placed the two trophies under the iron gate at front of the palace.

They also failed to meet with Marzuki, and also placed the trophy at the front of his office on Jl. Sisimangaraja, South Jakarta.

It was not clear whether they were able to meet with Benny, who last made his public appearance at the National Commission on Human Rights office for a questioning over his knowledge of the mass killings by military troops in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta in 1984. He was the Indonesian armed forces when the bloodshed took place.

Last year's winners included Abdurrahman's predecessor B.J. Habibie and Marzuki's predecessor Andi M. Ghalib. (09)