Students refuse to stop protests
JAKARTA (JP): Students refused to ease up their campaign of on-campus protests yesterday as universities in four major cities witnessed demonstrations where people loudly criticized the government and demanded that prices of basic commodities be reduced.
But the action, for the most part, failed to attract the general public who were oblivious to the protests as the students were isolated on their campuses.
The government has banned street rallies for one week before and after the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly which lasted from March 1 through March 11.
Some 5,000 University of Indonesia students staged a rally on their campus in Depok, West Java, which featured Amien Rais, chairman of the 28-million strong Muhammadiyah Moslem organization, and economist Faisal Basri.
During his brief address, Amien demanded that the government "seriously" implement the 50-point economic reform program agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including ending crony capitalism.
"The government must show concrete steps ... Eliminate those practices of corruption, collusion, and nepotism," he said to thundering applause from the students, who were mostly clad in the university's traditional yellow jackets.
The students showed their enthusiasm by carrying placards, waving national flags and the university's colors in the baking hot sun.
About 100 fully armed riot police backed by a platoon of marines were seen guarding the exit from the campus but they were generally cooperative and left the students to conduct their rally in peace.
In Surabaya, East Java, 1,000 students gathering at Airlangga University urged President Soeharto to be selective in choosing his next cabinet.
The students also said that in order to have a clean government, officials' estates must be audited before and after their tenures.
The students read out declarations asserting that only with such mechanisms could clean government be upheld.
One banner read: "Without clean government, the regime will only become more corrupt."
A smaller rally of 100 students was also reported at the Indonesian Institute of Arts in Yogyakarta.
But this rally was extremely mellow compared to the previous day's which saw about 20,000 people gather at the main Gadjah Mada Uiversity campus.
At Nommensen University in Medan, North Sumatra, about 100 students participated in a rally.
The university's assistant rector said he had given permission for such a rally and said such demonstrations were permissible as long as the students followed the rules and regulations that applied. (23/21/nur/aan)