Students Reveal Reasons for Confronting Budiman and Officials at UGM

A group of students has revealed their reasons for storming and chasing state officials during a discussion event at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Monday evening. The event, titled ‘Pancasila Unites the Nation’, was attended by Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Nusron Wahid, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono, and Head of the Poverty Alleviation Acceleration Agency Budiman Sudjatmiko. The forum initially proceeded smoothly, with the three officials taking turns to speak on stage. However, students rushed the stage when it was Budiman’s turn to speak, causing the situation to spiral out of control. Budiman disappeared after leaving the stage, whilst Sudaryono and Nusron had to walk and were chased by students before eventually being evacuated by patrol car near the eastern roundabout of the UGM campus. Prior to their evacuation, the two officials had briefly sat down to continue discussions near the campus south gate. The students, acting under the banner of the UGM Student Alliance, claimed they had arrived early to observe the discussion. ‘They are not fit to talk about Pancasila while Indonesia silences the people’s voice, while they treat criticism as a disturbance, while they waste public money on useless programmes,’ said Mesa from the UGM Student Union. Mesa argued that such confrontations are normal in a democracy. ‘Now they cannot just be whispered to; they must be shouted at. They must be confronted because there is no other effective way. Even when we do this, there is no guarantee they will feel guilty,’ Mesa added. He stated the chase would not have occurred if the officials had been willing to engage in discussion and answer the students’ questions. ‘The chase actually happened because they were avoiding us,’ Mesa said. He singled out Budiman, saying the former activist, once an inspiration, had now turned his back and betrayed his younger peers. He also criticised the poverty alleviation efforts as not siding with the poor. ‘If we are considered evil or riotous, their crimes are far greater because many people have their land seized and their dining tables empty. Why? Because their farmland is used for unclear national strategic projects planted with sweet potatoes and corn,’ Mesa declared. He stressed that UGM students are not anti-official and do not reject their presence on campus, but demanded they not bring fabricated data manipulated to appear positive. ‘If they lie and deceive, this is what we will do. To remind them that they cannot fool us,’ he asserted. Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono apologised to the students who were unable to participate in the discussion optimally due to the incident. ‘I apologise to the students who genuinely wanted to have a good dialogue. We are ready if invited again, whether in Yogyakarta or Jakarta. The important thing is that we discuss,’ he said in a statement. He maintained that he, Minister Nusron Wahid, and Budiman Sudjatmiko had come to engage in open and democratic dialogue with the students. ‘We came to UGM precisely to discuss,’ Sudaryono said, denying claims that he left the venue to avoid dialogue. ‘In fact, when our car was blocked and we were being sought, we got out again and sat cross-legged on the asphalt to continue the dialogue,’ he added.