Ujungpandang students in fare-rise unrest

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): Several thousand students took to the streets in protest against a transport fare hike and clashed with police here yesterday.

Student sources said about 60 demonstrators were injured in the protest that triggered traffic chaos during the rush hour as students blocked the city's main streets. No arrest was reported.

Many people have to walk up to 10 kilometers to their workplaces or schools as traffic stood still.

The students from six universities said transport hikes represent a heavy blow to ordinary people, including students, who are not exempted.

The banner-waving students demanded that the government cancel the transport fare raise.

Protesters threw stones at anti-riot police and troops. The security officers clubbed the students with rattan sticks and fired tear gas into the crowd.

Student sources said 45 students of the Hasanuddin University, 10 from the Indonesian Moslem University and another 10 from the '45 University were injured in the incident.

Eyewitnesses said security officers forced their way into the office of the rector of the Ujungpandang Teachers Training and Education Institute in their efforts to search for student protesters.

"The officers went into the rector's office and beat students there. We deplore this incident," the institute's spokesman M. Daud said.

Ujungpandang city police chief Lt. Col. Hasanuddin criticized the students for resorting to violence to raise their objection to the government policy.

"I hope the students are not being egged on by irresponsible people who want to see chaos," he told The Jakarta Post.

Mukhramal, a student activist, denounced the fact that the authorities entered the campus. "The campus is an autonomous area that no one can set foot in without a clear purpose," he said.

He planned to lodge a protest over the security authorities' harsh response to the demonstration with the commander of the Armed Forces.

The protesters turned down the authorities' offer for talks.

In Jakarta, Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Amir Syarifudin said he had not received reports about the situation in Ujungpandang. He promised to look into the matter. (20/pan)