Students continue sesion protests

JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of students in several major cities rallied on Tuesday to add pressures on the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly to come up with pro-reform decrees.

Students in the West Java capital of Bandung, East Java capital of Surabaya, Yogyakarta, the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, and the hill town of Bogor outside Jakarta, shouted for the Assembly legislators to end the Armed Forces role in politics, and for the detention and prosecution of Soeharto and his cronies. The students also demanded the lifting of a stipulation that all organizations must adopt the state ideology Pancasila as their sole guiding principle.

In Yogyakarta, thousands of activists of 33 youth organizations made the local RRI radio station air their demands. "Stop hurting people's feeling by repeatedly saying that the Armed Forces are part of the people because in practice the military always suppresses the people," the students said.

In Bogor, West Java, around 100 students gathered at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture to air the same demands. "Abolish the military dual role in security and politics ...prosecute Soeharto, investigate the rights violations in Aceh, Irian Jaya, Tanjung Priok, Lampung, East Timor and the murders in Banyuwangi, East Java," the students said.

In Bandung, around 200 rallied in front of the legislature building to demand trial for Soeharto and his cronies and abolition of the Armed Forces' dual role.

Some activists said they would continue with their rallies in the next three days as long as they failed to see the Special Session heeding their demands.

In Surabaya, thousands of students gathered at various spots in the city, causing massive traffic jams for four hours, to deliver their demands.

At the Heroes Monument, around 1,000 students gathered to listen to speeches that called on the legislators not to betray the people's trust in them. Another group of 500 students gathered in front of the Majapahit Hotel -- the historical site where Indonesian fighters ripped down the flag of the Dutch colonialists more than 50 years ago.

Around 1,000 students also rallied in front of the Grahadi gubernatorial office. Coming from respected colleges such as Airlangga University, State Institute of Islamic Studies, and Petra University, some of the students staged what was locally known as sumpah pocong.

Five students role-played as Moslem leaders Amien Rais and Abdurrahman Wahid, opposition figure Megawati Soekarniputri, and as President B.J. Habibie and Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, and were wrapped in white shrouds. They then took an oath never to betray the people.

In Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi, dozens of members of the Indonesian Moslem Students Association marched down the Sam Ratulangi thoroughfare, urging legislators not to disappoint the people.

They then congregated and continued their protest sitting down in front of the provincial legislature and the governor's office. The rally was peaceful.

In Central Java capital of Semarang and in Purwokerto, similar demonstrations took place.

In Semarang, those who opposed the special session and those in support both rallied in front of the provincial legislative council under tight security.

Hundreds of members of the Polytechnics Students Council demonstrated in support for the special session. They demanded the abolition of the military's political role, the holding of a fair and honest general election next May and the People's Consultative Assembly general session next December to adopt a new State Policy Guidelines.

They also called on the public to keep their vigil over the danger of communism, atheism, and liberalism cloaked with reform movement.

The other group was the Indonesian Nationalist Students Movement who rejected the special session, and demanded the establishment of a presidium government consisting of community leaders with integrity.

In Purwokerto, hundreds of students braved heavy rains and marched down the city's thoroughfare to air their rejection of the special session. (swa/har/23/nur/24/43/45)