Student protesters, idealists, now vandals?

Student protesters, idealists, now vandals?

JAKARTA (JP): There is no doubt that university students
played a major role in the 1998 downfall of the Soeharto regime
which resulted in Indonesia becoming one of the most populous
democratic countries in the world.

Unfortunately, some of the student protesters, now calling for
a people's trial for Soeharto, his family and cronies, have
lately turned violent and seemingly out of control when airing
their demands.

The city has witnessed much violent destruction of public
facilities by aggressive students.

Police posts, police/military vehicles, public telephone
booths, electricity poles, and also flower pots placed in the
median strips of the city's major thoroughfares, have been
battered, severely damaged and even set on fire.

In several cases, including last month's clashes in Salemba,
Central Jakarta, some of the angry protesters attacked and beat
up members of the military and police.

A number of other public facilities, including pedestrian
bridges, and many privately-owned properties, have also been
covered by graffiti.

Most of the students nowadays come well prepared by carrying
offensive weapons and Molotov cocktails, almost as if they were
about to go into battle.

Many have condemned such brutal actions by calling the
protesters militant, ugly, wild, disgusting, etc. Others have
said that the protesters' lack of control could result in a
backlash from the military and police. Some people even find it
difficult to believe that those who are damaging public property
are actually university students.

Such reactions are also in evidence among students not
involved in the demonstrations. A day after the ugly clashes
between student protesters and the police which broke out after a
court dismissed graft charges against Soeharto last month, dozens
of students from various universities in Jakarta condemned the
violence perpetrated by their fellow students.

"We demand that our fellows stop these mindless acts of
violence at once," one student told the crowd.

The Jakarta Administration itself has spent hundreds of
millions of rupiah repairing the damaged facilities.

Sadly, none of the vandals have been brought to court even
though the prevailing laws authorize law enforcers to do so.

One of the latest scenes of such vandalism was the office
complex of the Attorney General in the bustling Blok M shopping
area of South Jakarta.

Almost every wall the building complex, which has been "busy"
handling Soeharto-related cases, was covered in graffiti by the
protesters.

When contacted on Friday, Mario Pasaribu of Forkot (City
Forum), a student organization whose members are drawn from
several universities, said on Friday that the damage was nothing
compared to what the Soeharto regime had stolen from the state
and the crimes he and his cronies had committed while he was in
power.

"Such negative views are just aimed at denigrating our
movement.

"The graffiti, for example, is a lot more polite (than the
crimes allegedly committed by Soeharto and his family and
associates)," Mario said.

Asked about the molotov cocktails and weapons, such as iron
bars and clubs, that are now routinely carried by student
protesters at their rallies, Mario said that they only armed
themselves with these in anticipation of violent acts by the
security forces.

"If the police shoot at us, then we would like to have guns
too .. and we think it's legal (to protect ourselves)," he said.

Separately, Yushar Yahya, who on Friday left his post as
spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said that he would
simply urge the protesters to change their attitude in a bid to
gain the respect of the public.

"I don't think that the students need to draw rude sketches on
state buildings. There's no need for that at all.

"If they approach us politely, then, of course, we'll treat
them accordingly," said Yushar, who has just been promoted to
chief of the South Kalimantan Prosecutor's Office.

Late last month, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Nurfaizi
vowed to take stiff measures against any violent protesters.

"I am warning them (protesters) for the last time... I don't
want any more casualties. So don't push us around," he said.

He stressed that the police would no longer be lenient with
such violent protesters.

"In the past, we used to let them off with a warning. Not
anymore," he said, stressing that those arrested would be brought
before the courts. (bsr)