Student demonstration greets Habibie in Malang
MALANG, East Java (JP): More than 1,000 student demonstrators turned out as President B.J. Habibie visited here on Wednesday to dedicate a mosque at a local private university.
They demanded a dialog with the President, who later addressed 5,000 students on the Muhammadiyah University campus.
It was Habibie's second run-in with student demonstrators in the province since he took over the presidency from Soeharto last May. A student rally marred his visit to the provincial capital of Surabaya to mark National Sports Day last September.
On Wednesday, demonstrators flocked to the campus hours before Habibie's arrival, forcing the police to reroute his journey to the university. Police also blocked off all streets to be used by Habibie and his entourage.
Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung, Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (TNI) Commander Gen. Wiranto and Minister of Information Muhammad Yunus accompanied Habibie to the town, about 90 kilometers south of Surabaya.
About 300 riot police closely watched the students who lined the street leading to the campus, but no violence erupted.
Grouped in the Forum for Habibie's Reception, the students were from Muhammadiyah University, Brawijaya State University and the National Institute of Technology.
They displayed posters and a 25-meter-long banner in the national colors of red and white. Students sang and held a free- speech forum.
"Mass dismissal equals mass massacre," one of the posters read. Another read: "People are evicted from their land, they are now unemployed."
In their speeches, the students demanded that Habibie stop rampant violence across the country, ensure fair settlement of land disputes and continue the probe into Soeharto's personal wealth.
Students dispersed peacefully shortly after Habibie left the campus.
The mosque, named after Muhammadiyah figure A.R. Fachruddin who died in 1995, cost the Muslim organization Rp 7 billion (US$813,000). Its construction was completed in 1996, when Soeharto was slated to dedicate the building.
In his speech, Habibie told the students they needed religious values, in addition to professionalism and self-reliance, to become the country's future leaders.
He also discussed the significance of the Islamic New Year, which fell on April 17, in Indonesia's contemporary experience. He compared reform in the country to Prophet Muhammad's flight from religious persecution in Makkah to Medina.
"Like the Prophet, we are now moving from the old spirit to the new one, from power absolutism to the rule of law, and from the security and stability approach to the welfare and democratic approach," Habibie said.
He reiterated that the general election would take place as scheduled on June 7, saying there was no reason for its postponement.
"The general election is the only path to a better order which we are all pursuing through this reform movement," he said.
Later in his speech, the President -- who is still registered as a lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology -- said he dreamed of returning to teaching.
"But it will only come true after I resign in the next five or 10 years," he said, to the students' applause. (nur/amd)