Student protests continue on at least 30 campuses

Student protests continue on at least 30 campuses

JAKARTA (JP): Waves of student protests calling for reforms
and lower prices for basic commodities continued yesterday in at
least 30 universities across the nation, with thousands of
students and their lecturers jointly staging on-campus
demonstrations.

No violence or arrests were reported during the peaceful
protests which took place in at least five universities here and
dozens of others in Bandung, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surakarta,
Surabaya, Denpasar, Ujungpandang, Padang, and Medan.

The security presence remained high during several on-campus
rallies in the "student town" of Yogyakarta where thousands of
students and lecturers of at least five privately run
universities staged separate protests.

At least four trucks of riot police were deployed to the
entrance gates of Muhammadiyah University to keep protesters from
marching onto the Yogyakarta-Magelang Highway.

The university's student senate chairman led the mass
gathering of students and lecturers which incorporated a free-
speech forum, a theatrical show, and a marching band.

Deputy Rector Said Thuleleymeaki and several school deans and
lecturers mingled with the students who sang patriotic songs and
the university's anthem, with full musical backing from a
marching band.

Free-speech forums calling for lower prices of basic
commodities and reforms were also held separately in the
Indonesian Islamic University (UII), Widya Mataram University,
Kerja Sama High School of Economics (STIKEPS), and Atma Jaya
University.

The demonstration at the UII campus alongside busy Jl. Cik Di
Tiro was "officially opened" by Deputy Rector Mahfud M.D., before
students and school deans participated in a free-speech forum.

During his opening address, Mahfud said the incoming cabinet
ministers should be "clean, honest, professional, people-
oriented".

"The crisis has called for very serious attention from all the
nation's leaders," he said, warning that leaders should not
simply care about their own postings.

In Jakarta, more than 1,000 students from five separate
universities -- state-run Jakarta Teachers Training Institute
(IKIP Jakarta), Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jayabaya
University, the Indonesian Christian University (UKI) and
Nasional University (Unas) also staged similar protests.

At Jayabaya University in East Jakarta's Pulomas, Rector
Sjamsu Anwar addressed more than 200 of the university's
protesting students.

"The nation must unite if it is to get out of this crisis. I
hope your protests will run peacefully and may our voices be
heard by all related institutions in this country," he said.

In East Java's capital of Surabaya, more than 3,000 from the
state-run Airlangga University and more than 5,000 from privately
run Surabaya Institute of Technology held a mass gathering on
their campus grounds, demanding newly elected President Soeharto
step down from the presidency.

Simultaneously, hundreds of students of the state-run Sunan
Ampel Islamic Institute (IAIN Sunan Ampel), IKIP Surabaya,
Surabaya University, Tujuhbelas Augustus University, Petra
Christian University also staged similar protests.

In West Java's capital of Bandung, protests were also held by
more than 1,000 students in at least four universities -- the
Bandung Institute of Technology, Padjadjaran University, and
privately run Islamic University of Bandung and the University of
Pasundan.

In the South Sulawesi capital of Ujungpandang, hundreds of
students rallied for a second consecutive day at the University
of '45.

In Denpasar, the capital of the resort island of Bali, more
than 300 students, staff and alumni from state-run Udayana
University staged a similar protest.

In Central Java's capital of Semarang, the protests were also
staged at the campuses of Diponegoro University, IAIN Walisongo,
and Sultan Agung Islamic University.

Also in Surakarta, Central Java, thousands of students of the
Sebelas Maret University -- accompanied by their rector, Haris
Mudjiman -- staged a similar protest.

In North Sumatra's capital of Medan, more than 1,000 students
of the state-run Sumatra Utara University also demonstrated for
the same cause.

In the West Sumatra capital of Padang, more than 1,000 Bung
Hatta University and IKIP Padang students also demanded reforms
and protested against Soeharto's reappointment, Antara said.

Padang Police chief Lt. Col. Moch. Yusrin said the protests
ran smoothly without any incidents of violence.
(23/43/21/30/nur/har/ind/aan)