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)