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. (21/23/24/43/44/aan/afs/byg/edt/har/imn/nur)