Students admit to being used by political elite

JAKARTA (JP): Antigovernment student groups admitted on Tuesday to have been manipulated by the political elite at the legislature to topple President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, but said they would remain critical of the government.

Irfan Syauqi Beik, chairman of the Student Executive Board (BEM) of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), said the demonstrations staged by some students over the last three months were promoted by the political interests of certain groups in the legislature that tried to topple the President through the Buloggate and Bruneigate financial scandals.

"After seeing the reality we became aware later that none of the political elite in the legislature is credible because they are fighting for their own interests and not for the people and the nation," Irfan said in a political discussion on reconciliation and the role of the campuses at Trisakti University here.

Irfan regretted that students have been divided into anti- and pro-government groups, saying the student movement must return to its original moral mission and orientation for the people's social welfare and democracy.

"We are now entering a cooling-down period to revise our moral movement and design programs to bring us closer to the people," he said.

He said that IPB students would focus on research in the field of farming to help improve the social welfare of farmers who constitute a major element of the population.

BEMs of numerous universities, teaching institutes and academies in Java and Sumatra staged a series of antigovernment demonstrations in Jakarta recently, demanding the President's resignation due to his alleged involvement in the two financial scandals. The students also demanded the dissolution of the Golkar Party which was deemed responsible for the prolonged crisis and widespread corruption during the New Order era.

Andre Rosemade, president of Trisakti University's Campus Society, concurred and said the recent antigovernment student demonstrations went beyond their moral movement as they were trapped in the conflict between members of the political elite.

"The division among student groups must be halted and all students must unify to press the political elite to pay attention to the people and problems they are facing.

"Students must remain critical of the government and the legislature," he said.

Andre said the student organization at the university would enhance cooperation with the campus authorities to intensify their social development programs in rural areas in Banten and West Java to improve local people's income and help develop democracy in the two provinces.

Both Irfan and Andre said students would take to the streets in the near future in response to the political deadlock between the President and the legislature as they were in conflict over the division of power.

The two activists said students would stage demonstrations to press the government and the House of Representatives to pay more attention to the people.

Meanwhile, Prof. Thobby Mutis, rector of Trisakti University, called on students across the country to remain critical of the government and the House, saying the campuses have their own role to remind the two about their mission to serve the people.

"Students must play their role as a pressure group for the people," he said.

He also called on the Rectors Forum to play a role in mediating the conflict between the President and the House.

"The independent forum could play its role to sponsor a reconciliation meeting among the members of the elite in conflict, including political figures from small factions at the House and the Indonesian military leadership," he said.

Prof. Ronny R. Nitibaskara, coordinator of private universities in Jakarta, criticized political and legal experts as most of them were no longer independent in airing their opinions.

"They are no longer independent because they are allegedly interested in power," he said. (rms)