'Stay on campus' ministers tell student protesters

JAKARTA (JP): New Minister for Education and Culture Wiranto Arismunandar and Minister of Home Affairs R. Hartono responded favorably to the increasing number of student demonstrations demanding political reform, but warned the youths against taking their protests onto the streets.

Wiranto and Hartono, interviewed separately yesterday, agreed there were no reasons to reject constructive criticism from students, who have vociferously protested over the economic hardship facing Indonesia and the need for political and economic reform.

Wiranto, however, said the students should stay within campus sites while demonstrating because they were "amateurs, not professional politicians."

"I do not want students to be politically illiterate," he told the media after the transfer of duty from his predecessor Wardiman Djojonegoro.

Over the past month, students from both private and state-run universities in many cities have held demonstrations against the rising prices of basic commodities and asking for clean governance and political and economic reforms.

The protests have so far been largely peaceful, however minor clashes have occurred when students attempted to leave campus sites and demonstrate on the streets.

Last week, a violent incident took place near the entrance to a private university in Surabaya, East Java. Seven students and a police officer sustained minor injuries.

The latest violent incident took place on Tuesday in Surakarta when about 2,000 students from the state-run Sebelas Maret University staged a protest and chanted slogans blaming the government for the ongoing monetary crisis.

Scuffles between the students and 80 security officers armed with batons broke out during the demonstration. Riot police tried to disperse the students by hosing them with water.

Dozens of students fainted and required medical attention for facial injuries. Yesterday afternoon eight students were still in hospital suffering from bruising. Doctors expected that they would be released today.

Wiranto said it would not be necessary to suppress student protests. However, the students needed to understand that they would become part of the problem, rather than offering a solution, if their protests proceeded in a "wasteful, rather than beneficial" way.

"Students are learned members of society... their ideas must be excellent, and so must their behavior," he added.

Asked if he supported the student protests, Wiranto said: "If they have good reasons, why not. But as for me, what's important is the benefit (of the protests). Don't go overboard, or the protests would prove to be an overkill."

Wiranto declined to comment on whether or not the protests were politically motivated.

"I hope that the students have genuine motives and really want to help the nation escape from the monetary crisis," he said.

Meanwhile, Hartono said the government would respond positively to the students' demands and criticism.

"Why should we reject constructive criticism from the students?" he said.

Asked whether the student movement has threatened national stability and order, Hartono said they were still within the bounds of the 1945 Constitution.

He added that his office would be ready to hold dialog with the students.

Student protests continued yesterday and were focused in Central Java.

In Surakarta, 1,000 students of the Surakarta Muhammadiyah University (UMS) staged a protest demanding political and economic reform on their campus in Pabelan, Sukoharjo regency.

Also in Surakarta, nine supporters of the ousted Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri staged a hunger strike to symbolize their demand for immediate government action to settle the crisis.

Similar protests were staged by students of the private Sultan Agung Islamic University in Semarang and the Institute of Islamic Studies in Salatiga. (swa/har/aan/imn)