Students pledge to continue protest against press ban

Students pledge to continue protest against press ban

JAKARTA (JP): Students aligned with Students' Solidarity for
Democracy in Indonesia (SMID) said yesterday that the crackdown
on protests against the media ban will not stop them from
speaking out.

"SMID will continue to fight for freedom of the press,
information and for democracy," Ngarto Februana, acting secretary
general for the group, told legislators at the House of
Representatives (DPR).

Some 75 students grouped in the movement visited the
Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and Armed Forces (ABRI)
factions at the House in separate meetings to express their
disappointment over the banning of the Tempo, Editor and DeTIK
periodicals.

They also expressed dissatisfaction over the way security
officers dispersed their peaceful hunger strike on the premises
of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) last week.

The military crackdown on protesters on June 27 was another
source of contention referred to by the students. During the
incident, a number of protesters are reported to have been
severely injured after being attacked by security troops.

Forty-one students, including two who intended to hold a
hunger strike to protest the ban, were arrested on July 7 by the
Central Jakarta Police officers on charges of "engaging in
boisterous conduct."
Appeal

Each student was fined Rp 2,500 (US$1.16) by the Central
Jakarta District Court for taking part in the activities. The
students, who were assisted by lawyers from YLBHI rejected the
sentence and filed for an appeal.

YLBHI has also strongly protested against the arrests, saying
they were by far the greatest atrocity of all.

The students said in their written statement that the security
officers had violated the Constitution by arresting the
participants in the hunger strike.

Officers

They also urged the National Police Chief to punish the
officers who had overstepped their authority.

In the meeting with PDI, legislator Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno
told the students that the faction shared their disappointment
over the ban.

"Our stance regarding the ban is clear," he said.

Soetardjo, however, told the students to understand the fact
that being the minority in the House, PDI's position might have
little impact.

Representatives of the ABRI faction said they will listen to
the students' demands in order to formulate follow-up actions.

Legislators from the ABRI factions said earlier on Saturday
that it supported the journalists' efforts to have the ban
lifted, saying that they will seek a congenial solution.

They also urged the journalists to file a lawsuit against the
government.

The magazines were closed down by the government last month
under the accusation of ignoring government warnings regarding
either news policy or operational aspects of press publication.
(par)