Students on trial

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.