Violence mars student demonstration in Medan
Violence mars student demonstration in Medan
JAKARTA (JP): Students in Medan threw Molotov cocktails at
security personnel who responded with volleys of tear gas and
rubber bullets yesterday as more than 20,000 protesters
throughout the country continued their demonstrations for
reforms.
In Bandung, the capital of West Java, however, tension
dissipated when both student protesters and security personnel
took a break to watch a concert by controversial musician Harry
Roesli.
The violence in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, broke out
when students at St. Thomas Catholic University attacked security
personnel with Molotov cocktails and stones after being prevented
from marching onto the streets.
The 1,000 students also burned tires at their campus gate.
They dispersed after riot police used rubber bullets and tear gas
against them.
At least one student was rushed to a nearby hospital after
falling unconscious from the gas.
"This was the most violent demonstration here in the last few
months," said Katarina, an economics student at the university.
In Jakarta, State Secretariat Administration Bureau Chief
Shodiq received a letter and a single orchid from two Mercu Buana
University students, Faizal Assegaf and Abdul Rohman, to be
delivered to President Soeharto.
In the letter, the students urged Soeharto to speed up
economic normalization because the current situation was too
difficult for ordinary people to bear.
Security officers soon closed the gates and tightened control
around the complex. The twenty students, who claimed to represent
1,500 colleagues, left the office soon afterward.
About 500 students of the private Nasional University in
Jakarta clashed with police when they were prevented from
marching onto the streets.
Traffic jams were unavoidable and most shops were closed in
Ujungpandang, the capital of South Sulawesi, when thousands of
students from various universities, including the state-owned
Hasanuddin University, marched peacefully on the city's main
streets after saying their Friday prayers.
They visited the graves of Muh Tasrif and Sultan Iskandar, who
were killed in a clash between students and the military during a
protest against transportation tariffs in April 1996.
Wirabuana Command chief Maj. Gen. Agum Gumelar pointed out
that yesterday's march was still tolerable because the protesters
voiced the people's dissatisfactions against the government.
"Their demand to lower prices and to alleviate corruption and
collusion is an aspiration shared by all people," Antara quoted
Agum as saying yesterday.
Agum, responsible for security in Sulawesi, is the only
regional commander who allowed street marches.
"I respect and will not block the expression of positive
information through demonstrations," Agum pledged.
In Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi, 700 Sam Ratulangi
University students held a free speech forum at their campus.
Student senate chairman Iwan Setiawan Lantang read out a
statement condemning the infiltration of certain people into the
campus. The "infiltrators" allegedly beat several students during
a protest Monday.
In Surabaya, the capital of East Java, students and unemployed
youths held separate protests during which they demanded
President Soeharto enact political and economic reforms.
Students of the prestigious Bandung Institute of Technology
(ITB) also held a free-speech forum after their Friday prayers.
Uniformed police officers watched them. A heavy downpour
apparently made them confident that the students would not hold
their assembly long. As it turned out, however, the students
remained and were drenched before they dispersed peacefully.
In Yogyakarta, 20,000 Moslem students were joined by laborers,
housewives and pedicab drivers in a peaceful demonstration for
reform at Gadjah Mada University. (21/43/30/37/nur/23/44/prb/swa)