Students step up pressure
Students step up pressure
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Students nationwide again took to the streets on Friday,
rejecting the Supreme Court's decision that acquitted Akbar
Tandjung of graft charges.
The second day of protest went peacefully, unlike the day
earlier, when at least 60 student protesters were hospitalized
after clashes with police.
On the second day, students again pressed their demands that
the Attorney General's Office (AGO) review the Akbar case and
reopen it. They also demanded the Indonesian authorities
investigate four of five judges who acquitted Akbar, whom the
students accused of doing backroom deals.
Police tightly guarded protests across the archipelago, but no
blood was spilled.
In Yogyakarta, an ancient city known to have been the pocket
of progressive students, some 800 students staged protests in
front of the Gadjah Mada University traffic circle, demanding the
AGO reopen and review the case.
Amin Sudarsono, the coordinator of the protest, alleged that
the verdict was the outcome of a backroom deal and therefore had
to be rejected. "The verdict was weird. The district court and
the high court found Akbar guilty of corruption, but he was
subsequently acquitted by the Supreme Court.
"The case must be reopened to guarantee that justice is done,"
he shouted to crowds of protesters.
According to the law, a proposal to reopen and review a case
may be filed only by a defendant or the family of the defendant,
not the public.
However, Didi Supriyanto, a legislator from the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said in Jakarta that it was
still possible to demand reopening and review from the AGO.
"There have been precedents," he said, referring to the Gandhi
Memorial School and Muchtar Pakpahan cases.
The students in Yogyakarta, mainly from the Indonesian Muslim
Students Action Front (KAMMI), staged some street theater then
dispersed peacefully afterward.
In the Central Java capital, Semarang, a similar protest was
held by hundreds of students from KAMMI and from Soegijapranata
Catholic University, and the Democratic People's Party (PRD). The
students carried a bier, on top of which was a picture of Akbar
wearing a yellow Golkar Party jacket. The students staged a
protest in front of the Central Java High Court.
The Supreme Court verdict was the "death knell of law
enforcement in Indonesia," according to the protesters.
The students demanded that the Supreme Court judges be
investigated, fearing that they had made backroom deals in
reaching the verdict.
In the East Java capital, Surabaya, hundreds of students from
various universities staged a protest in front of the governor's
office, criticizing the verdict.
In the North Sumatra capital, Medan, dozens of students from
various universities descended on the provincial council
building. Besides rejecting the verdict, the students also
demanded that the authorities investigate the clash between
students and police in Jakarta on Thursday, which left at least
60 students injured.
They said that the clash was engineered by the police in order
to deter student protesters from taking to the streets again.
"The students were not armed. We condemn the repressive
approach by the police," said Usman, a student protester.
In a separate development, the Supreme Court verdict fueled
tension in the small East Java town, Bojonegoro, where five
command posts belonging to the Golkar Party Supporters Front
(BBPG) were set on fire by unidentified people at dawn on Friday.
The five posts were set alight by four people on two
motorcycles between midnight and 1 a.m on Friday, some six hours
after the Supreme Court had declared its controversial verdict.