Universities honor fallen students

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: About 5,000 students from three universities here on Tuesday descended on the city's streets to commemorate a bloody 1996 incident in which three students were killed.

Fadli Ibrahim, one of the coordinators of the rally, said the commemoration was aimed at honoring the spirit which had prompted students to take to the streets at the time.

Thousands of students in 1996 protested a hike in transportation fares.

But the rally was harshly dealt with by security forces, which clamped down on the students and chased them onto their campuses.

Three students died in the incident.

On Tuesday, the students laid a wreaths at the graves of the slain students and then marched to the local council building.

The rally ended peacefully without incident, with traffic congestion being the only concern.(27)