Students rally against PDI-P sales

CILACAP, Central Java: Hundreds of students staged a rally here on Friday to protest an incident involving local bureaucrats and the leader of the local chapter of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

The incident centers on the sales of books and T-shirts bearing the red logo of the party, of which President Megawati Soekarnoputri is chairwoman. The sales campaign was apparently approved by the local administration.

Civil servants and students complained that they had been forced to buy the books and the T-shirts.

The protesters on Friday slammed the Cilacap General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) and the local General Elections Commission (KPU) for lacking the nerve to take action against the unethical sales.

The Panwaslu promised last week to summon Cilacap Regent Probo Yulastoro and local PDI Perjuangan leaders for questioning about the forced sales, but it failed to make good on the promise, the demonstrators said.

PDI Perjuangan has dismissed Probo as the party's local election campaign leader because of the disgraceful sales. -- JP