Student protesters march backward against Gus Dur

Student protesters march backward against Gus Dur

JAKARTA (JP): Day-to-day rallies may waste energy, but not the
brain as hundreds of people returned to the streets on Thursday
to make various demands.

About 1,000 Muslim students from a number of universities and
academies in Jakarta marched backward from Al-Azhar Mosque in
South Jakarta to the House of Representatives building to add
pressure for President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's resignation.

When they arrived at the House after their about three-
kilometer walk, dozens of women activists in traditional kebaya
blouses and sarongs were acting as jamu (herbal medicine) and
Javanese cookie vendors. The activists, who were celebrating
International Women's Day, said they had come to heal the
country's ailing political elite.

The Muslim students said they were sending the President a
message that it was just as easy for him to step down as it was
for them to reach the House.

"We're giving the President an example of how easy it is for
him to resign," said Andi Rachmat, chairman of the United Action
of Muslim Students (KAMMI). He was holding a banner which read
"Gus Dur, mundur sajalah" (Gus Dur, just step down).

Andi said Gus Dur should resign for the sake of the country.
Muslim students across Jakarta, he added, no longer stood behind
the President because of his government's failure to carry out
sweeping reform.

"The nation has been under a serious threat of disintegration
since many instances of bloody unrest have erupted in many
regions, with the latest hitting Central Kalimantan," he said.

In their meeting with People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
Speaker Amien Rais, the students said the President had lost the
House's political support as demonstrated by its memorandum of
censure against the President last month over his alleged role in
two financial scandals.

"Therefore, a resignation is the best face-saving choice for
the President in order to save the country from disintegration,"
Andi said.

In his reply, Amien applauded the students concern over the
current political uncertainty and said the President should not
force himself to carry out the heavy presidential tasks.

In their protest, the woman activists packed the House lobby
with various posters and banners condemning members of the elite
for caring more about power than people.

They carried the jamu in bottles and used political terms to
name the medicine, for example "potion to heal corruption,
collusion and nepotism" and "formula to fight militarism".

In a meeting with the women, some legislators were forced to
sip a glass of the jamu, otherwise the protesters, led by human
rights activist Yeni Rosa Damayanti, prevented them from leaving
the meeting room.

Anti-Golkar

Separately, hundreds of youths staged a demonstration at the
Attorney General's Office, demanding the dissolution of the
Golkar Party, which they accused of protecting corrupt figures of
the past regime.

The demonstrators said Golkar should not be given a chance to
survive in the reform era because of the pivotal role it played
in the government's oppression of people for three decades.

"Golkar's claim of new paradigm has been proven a lie because
it has kept within its ranks corrupt officials of the past," said
Komaruddin, chairman of the University of Indonesia Student
Action Forum (FAM UI).

Outside the capital, over 4,000 people rallied on Thursday to
show their support for Gus Dur around an intersection in Majenang
district of Banjarsari, Central Java, near the border with West
Java.

The demonstration caused heavy traffic congestion, with
vehicles queuing for two hours to leave or enter the town. The
queue of vehicles reached 10 kilometers.

Apart from locals, the people came from Cilacap in Central
Java and Ciamis in West Java.

They prayed and staged a public speech in downtown Alun-alun
Square before marching to the intersection.

Their demands included the dissolution of the Golkar Party,
which they accused of betraying the nation.

A spokesman for the demonstrators, Ahmad Murtado, said the
rally was held in response to a planned student rally at Halim
Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta upon the arrival of the
President from his overseas trip in the wee hours of Thursday.
(45/rms/dja)