Students, ABRI not ready for dialog: Rector
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Neither the Armed Forces (ABRI) nor students seeking political reform are ready to meet, as ABRI has suggested they should, according to an observer.
Ichlasul Amal, the rector of Gadjah Mada University, said he had witnessed a number of previous encounters between the two, but neither seemed to be equipped with a clear concept about the reform they wanted or how to go about achieving it.
The exchanges tended to proceed monotonously, he said. Both the students and representatives of ABRI or the government usually did little beyond repeating long-held views and/or gave incomplete answers, Amal said yesterday.
"The students were often not ready to defend and describe what it was that they meant by political reform. The military officers were not ready (to respond to the students) either," he said.
Therefore, "both parties tended to keep saying the same thing over and over again, so those encounters appeared to be useless."
He did not say when and where such meetings had taken place, but added the encounters would have been of greater benefit had everyone involved prepared themselves.
The Gadjah Mada University campus has, for the past two months, witnessed student demonstrations on an almost daily basis. All have decried soaring prices of basic commodities and demanded social, economic and political reform.
These and similar protests at many other campuses across the country finally prompted the Armed Forces to offer a dialog in order to learn about the students' demands.
The students have so far given the offer the cold-shoulder, citing that certain conditions must be met first, namely transparency, freedom of expression and that they be treated as equals in the meeting.
Amal said he was confident the Armed Forces was strongly committed to responding to the growing calls for reform.
"There's a spirit on the part of the military to revise its (current political) role. But the Armed Forces cannot do it by itself. Students now have the opportunity to convey their thoughts on the matter," he said.
Amal promised he would facilitate any dialogs between students and parties from outside the campus or even mediate at them. However, he suggested the format of the so-called dialogs be prepared well so they generate the optimum benefit.
Another rector, Harris Mudjiman of the Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta, Central Java, said he and his staff would discuss the increasing student protests on his campus with local administrators today. Representatives of the local police, administration, prosecutor's office and military are expected to attend.
Sebelas Maret University students have been involved in clashes with security forces during their demonstrations. Dozens of them were injured Wednesday.
"These demonstrations clearly disrupt the learning process, but what can we do? These demonstrations are the expression of the students' concern about the crisis," he said. (23/byg/swe)