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)