Students protest governorship candidates from military background
Students protest governorship candidates from military background
Jupriadi
The Jakarta Post
Makassar
Dozens of student activists, grouped under the Tamalanrea
Students Forum (FORMAT), staged a rally here on Tuesday opposing
the nomination of South Sulawesi governorship candidates who have
a military background, a report said.
The protest, which began at 9 a.m. local time, was focused on
the Jl. Pettarani and Jl. Urip Sumohardjo intersection, close to
the entrance to the Reformasi toll road in Makassar.
The students made speeches and unfurled banners and posters,
which read: "Reject military candidates and beware of the return
of the New Order."
They called on members of the South Sulawesi provincial
legislative council not to elect candidates with a military
background.
"If the Provincial Legislative Council insists on electing one
of them (candidates with a military background), they will have
the students to deal with," Fadly, spokesman for the students
forum, said.
He said the students' opposition to candidates having a
military background was part of attempts to reject the military's
domination in the civilian administration, citing the repressive
approach taken by military-background officials in the South
Sulawesi administration in handling local problems.
"We reject the military, because we are confident that it
won't support the total reforms that the students have demanded.
We have also had bad experiences from the military-style
leadership under (incumbent) governor Zainal Basri Palaguna, who
has a military background," the spokesman said.
Palaguna's term of office will end this month, while the
gubernatorial election will be held in December.
There has been no official statement from the local military
headquarters nor Palaguna himself over the students' rejection of
candidates from a military background.
But, the Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters has repeatedly
issued statements saying that once a military officer retired, he
or she did not have any structural relationship with the military
as an institution and that the retired officer would then become
a civilian.
A number of retired Army generals have been tipped as
candidates for the South Sulawesi gubernatorial post, including
former TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. (ret) Amir Syarifuddin, who has
reportedly been nominated by the provincial chapter of the United
Development Party (PPP); Maj. Gen. (ret) M. Amin Syam, who is
currently speaker of the South Sulawesi Provincial Legislative
Council and chairman of the South Sulawesi chapter of the Golkar
Party and former attorney general Lt. Gen. (ret) Andi M. Ghalib,
who has also reportedly been nominated by PPP.
Meanwhile, civilian candidates include Hasanuddin University
Rector Radi A. Gany, businessman Aksa Mahmud, Golkar legislator
at the House of Representatives Nurdin Halid and incumbent Gowa
regent Syahrul Yasin Limpo.