Students stage protests to demand ABRI quit politics
JAKARTA (JP): Thousands of students across Java greeted the Armed Forces' (ABRI) 53rd anniversary on Monday with street demonstrations to demand the military quit the country's political stage.
They insisted ABRI do away with its dwifungsi (dual role) doctrine "right away", referring to the military's 40-year-old concept that justifies its involvement in socio-political affairs along with its national defense role.
The protests in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Semarang and Bogor all proceeded smoothly. No clashes or arrests were reported, although the rallies were closely watched by security forces.
In Jakarta, some 300 students from various universities converged at the front gate of the House of Representatives on Jl. Gatot Subroto, Central Jakarta. They carried banners, posters and staged anti-military speeches.
Over 100 police officers and soldiers observed the rally but did not intervene. Some were even seen joking with students who, in return, offered bottled water to the officers.
Messages against ABRI's dual role were harsh despite the seemingly good relations with the security personnel on hand.
"Reject Militarism", said one large red banner.
Others read: "People Unite, Revoke ABRI's Dual Function" and "Civilian postings are for civilians, not for ABRI".
A poster reading "Go Back to Your Barracks" was carried by a group calling itself the People's Coalition for Anti-Dual Function Strategy, whose acronym, Kostrad, is also that of the Army's crack Strategic Reserves Command.
Pande Trimayuni, a fourth-year political science student of the University of Indonesia, said the demonstration included East Timorese youth activists of the Timor Leste group.
Another protest in Jakarta by some 60 young executives and artists was held near the city's busy traffic circle in front of Hotel Indonesia in Central Jakarta. Passersby stopped to watch the protester's street theater production depicting a figure dressed in an Army uniform surrounded by skull-like forms.
The group's posters and banners read: "The barracks are more honorable than the political stage", "Best for the People, Best for ABRI" and "Let Us Leave Behind Dwi-fungsi".
A huge banner spanning five meters wide read "Happy Birthday ABRI -- Stop Your Domination." The protesters dispersed after staging a series of poetry readings and orations.
In Bogor, some 50 Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) students raised similar demands.
They named their group the People's Anti-Militarism Coalition, or Koramil, which is also the acronym for the military's lowest command unit. "Revoke ABRI's Dual Role", "Lower Basic Essential Prices" and "People Unite, Scrap ABRI's Dwifungsi" were among messages on their posters carried in the march from their campus in Baranangsiang to the city's legislature.
Scores of security personnel closely watched the rally.
Yogyakarta and Surabaya were the scenes of the day's largest protests.
In Yogyakarta, a town famed for its student population, at least seven university campuses were the sites of separate demonstrations. As many as 1,000 students gathered near Gadjah Mada University's traffic circle.
In Surabaya, 1,000 students of 19 universities also cried out similar demands in a joint street protest.
In Semarang, some 70 students grouped in the Semarang Youth Group staged a protest in front of the Semarang Military Command. (23/44/har/aan/emf/25)