Student movement must be free from political interests: Adian

The following is an interview with Adian Napitupulu, the leader of the student group Forum Kota (Forkot), about the perceived split among the student groups that have been waging street rallies in response to the current political crisis. Adian's group is widely perceived to be in conflict with groups spearheaded by university student councils, such as BEM-UI, over whether President Abdurrahman Wahid should remain in office. These differences have already resulted in an attack by one student group on a number of student council activists. An interview with BEM-UI leader Taufik Riyadi ran on this page on Tuesday.

Question: How would you describe the landscape of the student movement today?

Answer: Students are now split into two. The first group supports certain political institutions and the elite who are now in conflict. This particular group is split further into at least two factions, namely those that support the executive branch of power and those that support the legislators.

These students have directly or indirectly, consciously or otherwise, positioned themselves as subordinates to the powers that be, which has caused us to question their objectivity, honesty and "moral legitimacy".

Groups that formally support Gus Dur are (the Islamic student organizations) PMII, IPP-NU and some others, while supporters of the legislature include (the Islamic student organizations) HMI and KAMMI.

There are also those who have established technical committees in support of Gus Dur. The supporters of the legislature (DPR) have also established their own committees outside of their original organizations, namely the student councils.

So the students are indeed divided?

I believe there are signs of that. This (split) occurred when the pro-DPR activists forced the other students to take a confrontational position, (saying in effect) that the failure to support the DPR was tantamount to supporting Gus Dur. But it's not that simple.

Today, any political force needs the support of students to legitimize its aspirations and interests. It is therefore regrettable that some students have fallen into this "game".

They realized that their presence was needed. Meanwhile, the political elite realized that students and the people movement could be turned into a commodity, so they made use of that.

The students were united in 1998 because you had a common enemy, namely Soeharto. Why have you been divided since?

It's probably because some student groups are no longer pure. They are no longer (loyal) to their earlier positions. If they want to take sides, they should quit the student movement. The student movement should not take the side of anyone but the people. It should never become the tool of any political force. It should instead be the tool of the people's political force.

(I blame) the infiltration (of the student movement) by certain political powers from some political parties ... They infiltrated the student groups and ... made use of the confusion felt by students about selecting issues for their campaign.

Are you saying some student groups have been co-opted by political interests?

Yes, by the political elite. We suspect the involvement of money here, but I am not naming names or sources. What's clear is that something has gone amiss. There's a very strong smell of money here.

The tabloid Adil reported that your group, too, reeks of money.

We categorically deny any (speculation) about (being paid) money (to champion a cause). In fact, we have run out of money for logistics because everyone is so busy with this fight. Whoever is not involved in the fight will be abandoned.

Your group has a message similar to that of Gus Dur's supporters, namely the dissolution of Golkar. This is why it is easy for the public to believe that your group supports Gus Dur.

Those who think that have forgotten history, namely that the dissolution of Golkar had been our demand since Soeharto fell (in 1998), when B.J. Habibie became president and when he lost the presidency, up to when Gus Dur was elected president.

That was our original demand. Now (those who say Forkot supports Gus Dur) may know this history but have their own political agenda, (which they hope to further) by increasing this split among the students.

It is difficult to change the public's perception of things, including Forkot's perceived support of Gus Dur. What do you think?

I think that is because the media refuses to reveal that there is a third party to the split. The media refuses to give us space to explain (the split). So the people have been forced to choose from only two options: for or against (Gus Dur).

A recent meeting between Gus Dur and members of Forkot at Hotel Indonesia strengthened the perception that Forkot supports Gus Dur.

We were invited, but we came to Hotel Indonesia not to take part in the meeting. We used the opportunity to voice our political stance in another room.

Now that student groups are divided, what do you think is the prospect for the reform campaign of the young intellectuals?

I think this is a process of natural selection for students to see which among them are gold and which are straw. Gold remains a valuable metal when it is put into the fire, while straw burns.

What do you think can be done to reconcile the students?

First, they could be grouped into one organization. This would be very difficult, however. Second, they could be reunited by a figure within the student movement itself. Maybe three or four figures, but I don't think this option is available at the moment. Third, they could be reunited if they had a common enemy.

But the split affecting students today is such that it would be difficult to reunite them, even if they had a common enemy, because of the conviction that the enemy of BEM (student councils) are student groups outside of BEM. And vice versa.

This has made it difficult for students to see the problems clearly. They have no distance from the problems; they are part of the problems because they have been trapped into voicing support for this or that group.

Reconciliation is difficult, though not impossible. It would take a long time, a great deal of energy and hard work. Which is why what we need to do is reduce the polarization. Student groups must distance themselves from political interests to restore their objectivity and honesty in assessing the situation.

They can never be objective if they are part of the problem.

Some people and organizations, namely the Cipayung Group (members of student movements from the 1980s), have stated their willingness to act as mediators and help reconcile the students.

I don't think they can, because those people are also part of the problem. Elements of the Cipayung Group are members of PMII and HMI. They are the ones in conflict. The conflict then spread because of intersections among student groups, both in formal and nonformal organizations. (Deka Kurniawan)