Student demonstrations may lead to massive riots

Prolonged student demonstrations have won a warning from no less than the head of state himself. Hermawan Sulistyo, a researcher at the National Institute of Sciences, discusses the issue.

Question: Why are university students becoming more radical in their demonstrations?

Hermawan: Objective conditions have driven them to be more radical. While the economic crisis deepens, people are losing their purchasing power and students have difficulty financing their studies.

Even though the rupiah is strengthening, the students continue demonstrating because prices of goods remain high and they find it difficult to pay their rent.

Furthermore, the absence of a response from the authorities to their demands and their ongoing demonstrations have contributed to the escalation of their radicalism. Some of them have even called themselves a 'suicide squad'. Even though they are not armed, they have the courage to encounter physical clashes with security officers who are well trained and equipped.

Q: Who can control the demonstrating students?

H: No one. They are uncontrollable because most of them feel that they do not have any links with formal student or youth organizations.

From the day they entered university, student organizations on their campuses have been restructured in such a way as to distance them from political activities. Members of such organizations are not sensitive to social changes and are not well-trained to coordinate people.

When the economic crisis hit the country and the political situation worsened, the students resorted to demonstrations to articulate the plight of the people and the student organizations were not ready to coordinate them. The demonstrations, therefore, are uncontrollable and dangerous.

Q: Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto has invited the students to engage in a dialog. Will such meetings be helpful?

H: It is too late to invite the students to join a dialog because they started their demonstrations in January and February.

ABRI's approach in inviting the students to participate in a dialog is too formal. Having a dialog with the students at sophisticated buildings with a formal agenda sounds like a circus.

If he really wants to have a dialog with the students, the general should enter university campuses and have discussions with them at their free-speech forums.

Q: Why didn't they channel their aspirations through the House of Representatives?

H: The House members have no sense of crisis. They consider their business to be running as usual.

Q: Are political, economic and legal reforms the real targets of their demonstrations?

H: No. They are actually not ready to explain what kind of reforms they want. Their real target is actually a change in national leadership because they have been disturbed by the fast- growing businesses of the offspring of those top leaders.

Even if some of those children were attempting to win the hearts of the people by orchestrating schemes that seemed to benefit the public, the students and also many other people would be suspicious of their intentions.

The students, therefore, are full of resentment every time they read press reports about questionable business dealings related to politically powerful figures.

Q: Have the demonstrations today been exploited by a certain party for their own political goals?

H: I don't think so. Some people believe in rumors saying that some ABRI personnel are behind the demonstrating students but I do not believe it.

Q: So, what might happen if these demonstrations go on and on?

H: Violent, massive rioting might occur in major cities, and the hundreds of thousands of students involved in demonstrations and millions of other people cannot safeguard themselves against the severe economic condition.

Marked by a minus 4 percent growth in gross domestic product, the economy will get worse in the coming months.

Q: Do you think that the student demonstrations may trigger a people power movement?

H: The students' demonstrations are not the beginning of the people power movement. The movement started earlier this year, when common people were involved in violent riots for various reasons in many towns across the country. They stopped rioting when university students took to demonstrating, crying out their aspirations.

The students want to expand their demonstrations off campuses but university leaders and lecturers are persuading them not to do so. (riz)