Students on trial

Although the finishing sequels to the drama may yet have to be played, the curtain, for now, has fallen on one of the most bizarre shows ever seen on this country's judicial stage.

Pandemonium broke loose at the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday as the chief judge read out the sentences, condemning 21 student protesters to six months each in prison for defaming President Soeharto. During the final session of one of the three separate trials, which were held to judge the students, a defendant promptly appealed the verdict while reading out a "political statement." Prosecutors hurriedly tried to put a lid on the declaration, but four of the defendants locked arms to form a chain and finished the statement despite the intervention.

Students and photographers attending the verdict reading clambered onto the benches and angry shouts filled the courtroom. Spectators called the trial a farce and yells of "long live the students" rang out. Outside, posters and banners were unfurled.

Certainly, the guilty verdicts and the sentencing of each of the 21 student protesters accused of defaming President Soeharto by the Central Jakarta District Court come as no surprise to anybody.

For those who have been following the trial, the court proceedings of the past several weeks must have been indication enough of what was in store. And yet, a few notes seem to be worth making here. First, it should be noted that there are quite a considerable number of people who consider a six-month prison term for the kind of offense committed an overreaction. After all, the protesters were students, young people prone to using hyperbolic language, and they were making their protest inside the House of Representatives compound.

Secondly, however, it should be noted that the moderate -- by Indonesian standards -- nature of the verdict seemed to have surprised even the defendants and their supporters attending the trial. Reports said it was only after the political implications of the guilty verdict began to sink in that the boisterous protest erupted.

As recently as in February, another youthful protester, Nuku Soleiman, was sentenced to four years of imprisonment for the same offense. At that time, the court ruled that the defendant had been proven guilty of defaming the President by circulating 1,500 stickers criticizing the now defunct SDSB state-sanctioned lottery. The stickers were reportedly distributed to members of the House of Representatives during a hearing with the Minister of Social Welfare, Inten Soeweno. Other cases of a similar nature might be recalled, but as far as we can remember the verdict pronounced on Wednesday was the lightest so far.

Needless to say, assuming that this particular development can be taken to indicate a shift in perception, there is reason for gratitude. After almost 30 years of successful -- indeed phenomenal -- development, accompanied by a process of ever intensifying globalization, a new generation of Indonesians has emerged. Many of our young people are impatient with the pace of social and political reform that is now taking place. While on the one hand propriety will always remain an important ingredient of effective communication, on the other hand it is well for us to understand that base conduct -- as the older generation perceives it -- may have its reasons in relation to youthful impatience, plus a different societal background.