Students want Iramasuka disbanded

Students want Iramasuka disbanded

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Fifteen university student'
executive boards in Makassar demanded that the political group
Iramasuka Nusantara, which claimed to represent people in the
eastern part of the country, be disbanded, saying that the group
represented no one in the regions.

In a joint communique, the students said that members of
Iramasuka Nusantara had only concentrated on pursuing positions
in the country.

"They have been engaging in political horse trading," Andi
April, one of the students, said.

"We reject Iramasuka's existence. We want groups, which claim
to represent the people of the eastern regions of the country to
be dissolved," said Andi, student of the Makassar State
University in a press briefing.

Iramasuka stands for Irian (Jaya), Maluku, Sulawesi and
Kalimantan.

The organization, which was pioneered by Marwah Daud Ibrahim
and AA Baramuli of Golkar Party, has never fought for the
interests of the people living in those provinces, said Andi.

"This (political) group has been acting like a hero, but it
really doesn't do anything except for the sake of its members'
interests."

"This group always appears in public on certain occasions with
political motivations."

He said that people living in the provinces had been facing
serious problems. "And if Iramasuka Nusantara had been
representing them, they should have dealt with the problems,
including sectarian clashes in Maluku, Poso in Central Sulawesi
and Pontianak in West Kalimantan."

"Where were the Iramasuka Nusantara members when the clashes
erupted and what did they do? They were just busy seeking
positions. This has really hurt the people."

Azman Azis of the Muhammadiyah University's Student Executive
Board said that a group such as Iramasuka Nusantara could trigger
people living in other provinces to establish similar
organizations. "This would threaten national unity."

The students in the joint communique urged their fellow
students in Jakarta to warn political leaders from the eastern
region (living in Jakarta) not to be trapped in (political)
contests for power. (27/sur)