Tension rises in student demonstrations

Tension rises in student demonstrations

JAKARTA (JP): Police in Lampung fired warning shots and tear-
gas at about 3,000 stone-throwing students who staged a
demonstration demanding sweeping reform and lower prices of basic
commodities yesterday, a student leader said.

Mahendra Utama, a law student at the state-run Lampung
University in the provincial capital of Bandarlampung, some 350
kilometers northwest of Jakarta, said 60 protesters were arrested
in a scuffle after hundreds of riot police entered the campus.

At least two warning shots were fired and three volleys of
tear gas were released, Mahendra told The Jakarta Post in a
telephone interview yesterday.

Lampung Police Chief Col. Gendro Budi Santoso confirmed that a
protest had taken place on the campus.

He also confirmed that 60 arrests were made, but declined to
say how many students the police estimate to have been involved
in the protest.

"They are only detained for identification," Gendro told the
Post.

In the East Java capital of Surabaya, some 500 students of the
Airlangga University staged a demonstration demanding reform and
a review of the new cabinet.

Security personnel closed off the main street in front of the
campus and several armored vehicles were maneuvered into place.

Also in Surabaya, some 50 students attempted to march from the
Surabaya office of the Indonesian Islamic Students Movement to
the local legislature. Police blocked their way and the students
dispersed.

In East Jakarta, some 300 students from the private Jayabaya
University demonstrated against remarks made by Minister of
Education and Culture Wiranto Arismunandar. He recently described
students who dabbled in politics as "amateurs."

Around 200 other students watched the protest. There was tight
security in front of the campus.

In South Jakarta, around 400 students from the National
Institute of Science and Technology held a rally demanding lower
prices and political reform.

The students marched out of the university but police blocked
their advance onto a nearby main road. There was no incidents.

Similar protests were staged yesterday by students of the
Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta, Central Java, and the
Udayana University on the outskirts of Denpasar, Bali.

University students have stepped up the pressure on the
government for reform and immediate action to solve the economic
woes.

Clashes with security forces in West, Central and East Java
earlier this week left dozens of students injured.

Separately, Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie
Sjamsoeddin warned the students of "infiltration" by certain
parties. He named the outlawed Democratic People's Party as among
possible agent provocateurs.

He said a police raid on an East Jakarta apartment last week
found a document which suggested the party had been devising ways
of drawing students off campus sites.

The Armed Forces have so far tolerated rallies on campus sites
but promised to take stern action against those trying to take
their protests onto the streets.

Meanwhile, the ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI), Megawati Soekarnoputri, said yesterday that the
government should engage in dialog with critics, including
students, in response to calls for reform and clean governance.

She appealed to the military not to repress the student
protests.

"The students should be given access and opportunity to
express their opinions," she said. "They should be invited to
discussions. They shouldn't be arrested or beaten for expressing
their concerns about the current political and economic
situation." (nur/09/28/har/imn/byg)