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)