Students continue pressure of reform
JAKARTA (JP): Students kept up pressure for political reform and lower prices of basic commodities yesterday, holding demonstrations criticizing the government for the economic crisis.
Protests were held yesterday at state and private universities in Surakarta and Sukoharjo in Central Java, Bandung and Bogor in West Java and here in Jakarta.
In Surakarta, around 2,000 students from the state-run Sebelas Maret University chanted slogans blaming the government for the ongoing crisis.
The students wanted to deliver a petition to the local legislature, but were prevented from leaving the campus by security forces.
Minor scuffles broke out between the students and security officers before the students dispersed. No violence was reported.
In Sukoharjo, hundreds of students from the private Bantara University unfurled banners demanding political and economic reforms.
They also demanded that the new cabinet and the House of Representatives work to abolish corruption, collusion and monopolistic practices.
In addition to echoing the sentiments of their Central Java colleagues, hundreds of students from the state-run Padjadjaran University in Bandung and Ibn Khaldun University in Bogor also criticized the new cabinet line-up.
They believe the new cabinet reflects a reluctance on the part of the government to launch reforms.
Students of Parahyangan University and the State Institute of Islamic Studies of Sunan Gunung Djati in Bandung also staged separate demonstrations yesterday.
In Jakarta, hundreds of students from the Pancasila University in South Jakarta spilled onto the street as they demonstrated against the government.
About 100 armed security personnel lined up in rows in front of the university as students chanted slogans and called on President Soeharto to step down.
The students briefly blocked two lanes of a highway, but dispersed without incident.
At one stage the university's rector, Subroto, a former minister of mines and energy, stepped into the fray with an appeal to students to have patience with the government's efforts to solve the economic crisis.
Separately, some 500 students of the private Mercu Buana University demonstrated over tuition fees which they felt were burdening them financially. The same university students had earlier staged a demonstration against price hikes last month.
Separately, Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto said that the military's recent offer to hold discussions with student groups was genuine.
"The invitation to talk with the students is not mere lip service but a genuine invitation," Wiranto said before attending the first meeting of the new cabinet in the Bina Graha presidential office yesterday.
Wiranto said last week students should choose dialogue, not rallies, to air their opinions and aspirations, adding that all levels of the military were prepared to meet with student groups.
Security officials have warned they will not tolerate street rallies, but will allow demonstrations to proceed if held within the confines of university campus sites.
Several scuffles have broken out between students attempting to take their protests off campus and security forces which have blocked their way. No serious injuries have been reported.
Meanwhile, Minister of Education and Culture Wiranto Arismunandar said that he did not consider protest rallies at universities, which have involved both students and lecturers, to be improper.
"They are proper and a natural way of expressing their opinions, although they should improve the methods used to conveying their message," he said before yesterday's cabinet meeting.
He said students could instead present proposed solutions to the economic crisis. (24/43/har/byg)