Universities honor fallen students

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)