Students demand closure of IIU

MEDAN, North Sumatra: Dozens of activists of the Indonesian Christian Students Movement (GMKI) rallied in front of the Inti Indorayon Utama (IIU) pulp company here on Wednesday.

Dressed in traditional costumes along with ulos scarfs, the students began to throng the company office on Jl. Iskandar Muda at around 10 a.m. Some of them delivered public speeches, while their friends chanted traditional songs and performed Tortor dances. The rally blocked all accesses to the street.

"We are just channeling people's demand for the complete closure of the company," Tohap Sinambela, secretary of the students movement, said.

In a media conference later in the day, some traditional groups announced their support for the closure.

The government ordered the company in May to stop its rayon- making unit for environmental reasons, but it was allowed to continue its pulp production. (45)