Students told to stop denouncing ABRI

Students told to stop denouncing ABRI

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Education and Culture Juwono
Sudarsono appealed to students on Monday to stop bashing the
Armed Forces (ABRI) while the nation's security and stability is
in a most precarious position.

"For the time being, I call on students not to use strong,
radical rhetorics against ABRI, especially the police force,"
Juwono told reporters in his office.

"People need them (ABRI) to rebuild their confidence and their
sense of security," he said.

The endless bashing of ABRI and its dual-function will create
more uncertainty, he said. "It's going to be hard (for ABRI) to
restore stability and security."

Many of the student protests in recent months have been
targeted at ending ABRI's sociopolitical role, which they say is
impeding democracy. The bashing of ABRI reached a fever pitch
after the Nov. 13 Black Friday tragedy, which saw soldiers open
fire on unarmed student protesters. The government said 13 people
were killed in that and a smaller clash a day earlier.

Juwono appealed to students to follow the laws which give them
freedom to express their opinions, but in an orderly fashion.

He said that the police, rather than soldiers, are now being
deployed on the front lines to deal with student protesters,
because they have been trained to handle these situations.

Juwono fell short of appealing to students to stop their
protests altogether, even with the arrival of the Ramadhan
fasting month and the students' final examinations.

"Well, they may continue staging protests... but if they can,
do it for just half an hour, so it won't be disruptive," he said,
adding that students should not forget to prepare for their
finals.

However, Juwono expressed concern that the student protests
have disrupted the learning process at some schools in Jakarta
and other major urban centers.

Some schools have reduced their school hours and sent their
pupils home early, he said.

"This is happening in big cities. What we can do now is to
ensure that these pupils get the minimum hours of learning," he
said, adding that "the impact of this disruption would be felt 10
years from now".

Meanwhile, the capital on Monday saw sporadic protests with
students, East Timorese and peasants making various demands.

Some 100 Timorese youths went to the United Nation's office on
Jl.M.H. Thamrin calling for a total military withdrawal from East
Timor and a plebiscite in the former Portuguese colony.

Some 100 students from the Jakarta Institute of Management
Studies marched to the office of the Ministry of Education and
Culture on Jl. Sudirman, demanding that Juwono resign.

"He called our school an illegal school," one of the students
said.

Fifteen representatives of the students met for about an hour
with Juwono.

"Your school does not have any (government) accreditation, so
your diploma will not be admitted. Now it's up to the people to
decide whether or not to enroll in your school," Juwono said.

A group of 73 peasants from Indramayu, West Java, escorted by
students from the Bogor Agricultural Institute, went to the
office of the National Development Planning Board on Jl. Imam
Bonjol.

They were calling on the government to reconsider its decision
to end subsidies on fertilizer, group coordinator Saeful Bahri
said.

The students were met by senior board officials Parulian
Sidabutar and Gunawan.

Ten people from the Rawamangun Students Forum visited the
House of Representatives to present a petition calling for the
abolition of ABRI's sociopolitical role.

In Semarang, the capital of Central Java, students from the
Christian Satya Wacana University staged a demonstration at the
Diponegoro Military Headquarters. They called for an end to the
use of violence. (edt)