Students clash with security personnel
Students clash with security personnel
JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of people were injured yesterday when
security personnel clashed with thousands of students in several
cities staging rallies critical of the government's warning to
those demanding political reform.
Most of the protests proceeded noisily and were marked with
some jostling with riot police, who prevented the students from
taking their protests to the streets.
In at least two demonstrations, violence broke out.
Six students in Jakarta needed medical attention and more than
12 others sustained minor injuries in several demonstrations,
while one vehicle was burned by students in the private-run
Nomensen University in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra.
In Medan alone, demonstrations were held on six campuses,
including the state Sumatra Utara Islamic University.
The demonstrations in Jakarta took place at, among others, the
Teachers' Training Institute, the Syarif Hidayatullah State
Institute for Islamic Studies, the Academy for Foreign Languages
(ABA-ABI), the University of Indonesia and Veteran University.
Four were injured at the ABA-ABI when students tried to break
a police cordon in order to get onto busy Jl. Matraman, East
Jakarta, and join their colleagues who had gathered at the
University of Indonesia about one kilometer away.
About 200 riot police blocked the entrance of the small ABA-
ABI campus, while residents and motorists jammed the street in
order to get a look at the melee.
At the University of Indonesia, Jl. Salemba, Central Jakarta,
more than 2,000 students gathered in front of the School of
Medicine. Students took it in turns to deliver fiery speeches on
various issues, from rampant corruption, collusion and nepotistic
practices to freedom of the press.
The students also used the momentum of National Education Day,
which fell on May 2, and World Press Freedom Day, which is today,
in their demonstration.
The university students were joined by high school students
and some university lecturers, including prominent sociologist
Selo Soemardjan.
Students in yellow jackets and blue jackets shouted "reform",
and raised their fists. They tried to push their way past the
campus gates but were blocked by riot police with shields and
helmets.
In a piece of antigovernment street theater, a group of black-
clad protesters from the Jakarta Institute of the Arts, with tape
over their mouths, cowered while a student in a military jacket
and helmet brandished a stick over their heads.
Trucks of riot police were parked outside campuses where
rallies were held.
Students claimed that Saturday's five hours protest was the
longest so far.
"We have the stamina and will continue protesting until
political reform is implemented by the government," student
leader Agus Gede Mahendra said.
Witnesses said in one particular demonstration in Jakarta,
police lost 15 shields during a scuffle. The protesting students
either ran away with some of them or stomped on them until they
were ruined.
Peddlers
Like in previous demonstrations in various cities, many people
supported the students' campaign by joining in the protests. They
included housewives, nuns, factory workers, street singers and
even prostitutes.
In Surabaya, it was taxi drivers and street peddlers who
joined 2,000 students when they staged a free speech forum at the
entrance of the Surabaya Institute of Technology.
In Yogyakarta, antigovernment rallies were held yesterday by
students at a number of locations, including Gadjah Mada
University.
Dozens of students from the university's postgraduate program
also marched on the campus to demand reforms before they joined a
gathering of their juniors in front of the Student Hall.
In Semarang, Central Java, 1,000 students from several
universities held their rally on the campus of Soegiyopranoto
Catholic University.
Some 2,000 students from the Walisongo Islamic Teaching
Institute also staged a demonstration.
Similar protests were also staged by students in Bogor and
Bandung, both cities in West Java. Students at the Bogor
Institute of Agriculture were not only involved in a war of
stones with security personnel but also traded insults for hours
before they dispersed.
The students were responding to President Soeharto's reported
statement that there would be no political reforms until his
current term ends, five years from now. This statement was
retracted yesterday but the student rallies yesterday were mostly
to voice opposition against having to wait another five years.
The government pointed out that some political changes, such
as a shift from proportional representation to a district system
for legislators, were already under way.
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