Students report to military police

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): About 100 students of the Medan Institute of Technology (ITM) reported to the military police on Tuesday the arrest of four of their colleagues by police the day before.

On Monday 11 students grouped in the Medan Students Solidarity Forum (Forsolima) planned to visit 12 workers of PT Latexindo Toba Perkasa detained at the Medan police headquarters. The workers' earlier protest had resulted in several being injured when the authorities opened fire.

However Forsolima secretary-general Kadri Alrijal told The Jakarta Post that they were beaten by the police when they arrived. A camera was seized and four were arrested, including Kadri, a student at North Sumatra Moslem University (UISU). The others were from ITM -- Sahat Simatupang, Misbahudin and Ahmad Fauzan.

At the military police office on Jl. Sudirman on Tuesday, the students demanded the release of the detainees and unfurled posters, some of which read: "Bring the shooters of the workers to trial." Medan police have defended their warning shots on the grounds that the protesting workers had stoned them. (21)