University bans campus campaigning

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

The University of North Sumatra (USU) announced on Tuesday that it would not allow any political party to use its campus for campaigning ahead of the upcoming elections.

Mass campaigning or that via meetings are banned, the university's senate said.

USU leaders said the decision was made to maintain the USU's political neutrality and to avoid the possibility of clashes in the campus.

A member of the senate, Jhon Tafbu Ritonga, who is a deputy rector for student affairs, said the decision to prohibit political parties from campaigning in the USU campus was final.

It was unanimously agreed upon by all members of the senate in a recent meeting, he said.

"About 100 senate members supported the move to ban political campaigning in the campus. We shall stick to our decision," Jhon told The Jakarta Post.

He said the ban was in line with suggestions by USU professors for their campus not to be used as an arena for political campaigning.

According to the professors, political campaigning in the campus would not benefit higher learning institutions but instead could create new problems because politicians -- whether or not corrupt -- would take advantage of the campus to present a "cleansed" version of themselves.

"If we were to allow political campaigning in the campus, every legislative candidate who passed screening by the General Elections Committee (KPU) could campaign here, while, at the same time, university students across Indonesia are campaigning against unscrupulous politicians.

"This is a problem because we cannot allow politicians to campaign in campuses. It could spark conflicts of interest," said Jhon.

North Sumatra General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Irham Buana Nasution commented that the decision for USU to ban political campaigns on its campus was its prerogative.

The decision should be respected by all political parties, he added.

Even though the elections law allows parties to campaign in campuses, Irham said, state or private universities had their own right to ban such political events.

Elections Law No. 12/2003 and KPU Regulation No. 701/2001 on campaigning stipulate that campuses may host political campaigns ahead of general elections.

"The KPU cannot do anything if the USU has decided to ban campaigning from its campus. We accept that if the decision is already final, we should respect it. We have handed over the entire mechanism to universities," Irham said.

Political parties are scheduled to engage in campaigning from March 11 to April 1, four days before Indonesia holds general elections to select legislative candidates.