Students refuse to stop protests

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)