Students extend demand on total govt reforms

JAKARTA (JP): Protesting students and security personnel held their ground yesterday, as though waiting for the other to blink, in more of the student demonstrations for reform that began two months ago and have yet to show signs of abating.

Thousands of students kept up their rallies in Jakarta, the North Sumatran capital of Medan, Central Java cities of Semarang and Surakarta, Bali's capital of Denpasar, Pasuruan, East Java, the South Sulawesi capital of Ujungpandang, and in Yogyakarta. The protests, except for Medan, proceeded peacefully.

Students attempted to take their protests onto the streets, although security personnel did their utmost to make sure they stayed on campus, a standoff of wills which had in the past descended into physical clashes.

The students used the protests to blame the government for the economic crisis besetting the country, and to champion "total reforms".

They also urged the People's Consultative Assembly to convene an extraordinary session to ask for President Soeharto's accountability over the predicament.

In Jakarta, about 500 students of the Teachers' Training Institute made their mark by protesting on the street, remaining there for one and a half hours, and blocking traffic on Jl. Pemuda, East Jakarta.

Banging drums, waving colorful banners and posters, they marched around their campus calling to their friends to join the rally.

"Let's go on the street, now, but all must be in peace," said one student. Hundreds of female students wearing Moslem headscarves joined in, occupying two lanes of the eight-lane Jl. Pemuda. Hundreds of residents and motorists looked on.

One big green banner had the message: "Neo Tritura: Lakukan Reformasi Polek, Ciptakam Pemerintah Yang Bersih, Turunkan Harga (New Demands of the People: Political and Economic Reforms, Clean Governance, Lower Prices).

The East Jakarta police chief, Lt. Col. Syahrir Kuba, was on the scene, and urged the students to return to campus.

Hundreds of security personnel watched the rally. A brief scuffle broke out, but there were no reports of injuries or arrests. The students dispersed in peace.

In Semarang, about 1,000 students from several universities gathered at the Sultan Agung Islamic Institute.

Several posters and banners read: Rakyat Kini Lapar (People are Hungry Now), and Turunkan Pemimpin Yang tak Becus (Down with Incapable Leaders). Another rally was held at the Diponegoro University.

Antara reported that about 2,000 students held their rally at the Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta, featuring politician Mudrick Sangidu from the United Development Party.

The students braved heavy rains to continue the demonstration that started in the early afternoon and ended at 4 p.m.

In Pasuruan, 40 kilometers southeast of Surabaya, an estimated 2,000 people -- students, housewives, pedicab drivers and local ulemas -- staged a free speech forum on the Bangil roundabout. The mass gathered there after the Friday prayers.

The hour-long protest was organized by the Indonesian Moslems Action Front (KAMMI).

In Ujungpandang, about 8,000 students from at least five universities gathered at the Karebosi Square to perform their Friday prayers and then stage a free-speech forum.

No violence was reported.

In Yogyakarta, a protest was staged on the field of the Kauman mosque near the ancient royal palace. About 1,000 people attended the session which featured ulemas, student leaders and several scholars.

Among the ulemas addressing the protest gathering, held after the Friday prayer, was 80-year-old Kyai Haji Haiban Hadjid, a patriarch of the Kauman Moslem community.

"The young people's spirit to uphold truth nowadays reminds me of those in the 1945 (independence war) and 1966 (when students helped topple the Old Order regime). I pray for your fight," he said.

Meanwhile, in Medan, the rally became violent when several students, armed with stones and Molotov cocktails, clashed with security personnel with shields, batons, rubber bullets and tear- gas canisters.

The violence was reported to erupt around the campus of the Sumatra Utara Islamic University and the Institute of Technology where thousands of students called for President Soeharto to step side.

Hundreds of shop owners near the campus closed their businesses due to the fear of vandalism. (21/23/44/30/har/nur/aan)