Students protest against immunity

SEMARANG, Central Java: A group of students staged a demonstration at the legislative council's premises yesterday, demanding that all regulations that give government officials legal immunity be scrapped.

Under the watchful eyes of dozens of security officers, the protesters also demanded that the government stop intervening in religious institutions' internal affairs.

The students from various universities also criticized the legal institutions for discriminating against certain elements of society when enforcing the law.

They filed their petition with speaker of the provincial legislative council Soeparto.

Spokesman for the protesters Asmono Wilkan said that although their demands were heard, they were enraged by Asmono's remarks that the students looked like "street hoodlums".

Asmono, he said, was offended because many of the protesters wore thongs, long, messy hair and used abusive words during the demonstration. (har)