Who's who behind the demonstrations
JAKARTA (JP): The past few months have witnessed the rise of a new crop of student leaders. Below are the views of just a few of them from universities and colleges in Medan, Ujungpandang, Surabaya, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung and Greater Jakarta.
Ridaya La Ode Ngkowe, chairman of the student senate at Gadjah Mada University (UGM). Ridaya, born in Banggai, Central Sulawesi, in 1974, organized the largest student demonstration this year on March 11, when about 25,000 students from various universities in Yogyakarta participated. An effigy of President Soeharto was burned, an unthinkable act just several months before.
He cited the similar students' demands across the country: change in the national leadership, the abolishment of five political laws blamed for maintenance of the status quo, and the enactment of a law against nepotism, corruption and collusion. And, also, "simply, bring down prices".
He added that students wanted a peaceful movement, and hoped confrontations with security personnel would not be repeated.
"We try our best to avoid confrontation ... yet we still want to involve as many people as possible in our movement."
He claimed that more people from various walks of life had joined demonstrations in Yogyakarta -- including housewives, civil servants, teachers, and street singers.
"I'm convinced that when the masses (joining rallies) get bigger, ABRI will chose to join the people because they are also part of the people."
Ridaya said his activities worried his family, especially his mother, who never had the opportunity for a formal education.
"I always try to convince them that I will be very careful."
He said several intelligence agents monitored the boardinghouse where he stayed. He said several of his friends had also warned him of his possible kidnapping by unidentified people. "But I believe that this country is based on law. Therefore, there should be nothing to worry about ... "
M. Tafrikhan Marzuki, chairman of the student senate at Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java. Tafrikhan, son of a Semarang farmer, is majoring in public administration at the School of Social and Political Sciences.
Security officials have often questioned him on his background and his family, said Tafrikhan, who claimed he was "ready to face all risks".
His family, especially his father, supports his activities provided he is acting in the interest of the people, he said.
The student, who is also secretary of the Central Java chapter of the Association of Moslem Students (HMI), said he and fellow students demanded that the People's Consultative Assembly convene a special plenary meeting to demand accountability from President Soeharto over the crisis.
He said that because the House of Representatives was virtually "dead", "there is no other choice than for students to take a lead in demanding reforms" of the system and its leaders.
Ahmad Muhibbuddin, chairman of the student senate at Syarif Hidayatullah State Institute of Islamic Studies, Jakarta. Ahmad, born in Pasuruan, East Java, is a student at the institute's School of Theology (Ushuluddin), majoring in the interpretation of Prophet Muhammad's sayings (hadits).
Ahmad said the student movement should continue to be a moral movement, not a political one, until there was a really capable candidate to succeed the President.
For now, "... It would be naive for us students to shift our movement to a more political orientation".
Even if a "people's power" movement were realized, he said, it would be useless if there was a vacuum of national leadership.
He said students would continue to consolidate among themselves to prepare for "the right time".
Of the loose forum of student representatives in Greater Jakarta called Forum Jakarta, Ahmad said there was a conscious decision to have no coordinator at the helm.
"We do not want to make the same mistakes the 1966 student movement made, namely creating elite figures who eventually held elite political positions like ministerial posts and denied the aspiration and mission of their own movement," he said.
Elvi Sumanti, general secretary of the student senate at Sumatra Utara University (USU) in Medan and editor-in-chief of the university's tabloid, Suara USU (USU's Voice). Eli, who was born in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, 1973, is a student of USU's School of Letters.
Eli was one of the representatives who rejected an invitation to attend a dialog with Minister of Defense/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto on April 18 in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
Students shared ABRI's view that reform must take place gradually, she said, but saw no possibility for a solution to emerge from such a dialog.
"The most important of our demands for reform is the moral issue related to nepotism, collusion and corruption," Elvi said.
As students, she said, "we want to be in the front line to state our stance on the crisis ... we are in chaos ... we need immediate change and improvement."
USU has been involved in mass student actions since March 10, and Elvi says they have made an impact, although the violence was unintended.
"There has been a response to our voice, at least in the form of the invitation to the dialog," she said.
Elvi, a daughter of a retired civil servant, suggests that security officers should shoot into the air to avoid more accidents.
"If students are only yelling and not being provocative, why the shooting?" asked Elvi. Tear gas and clubs already cause sufficient pain, said Elvi.
M. Nur Alamsyah, chairman of the student senate at Hasanuddin University (Unhas) in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi. He is a student at the university's School of Political and Social Sciences, studying public administration.
Alamsyah and other Unhas students flatly rejected an offer of a meeting with Commander of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto when the latter visited Ujung Pandang recently.
Alamsyah said this was because students did not have much confidence in the Armed Forces and the government, "who were both trying hard to maintain the status quo."
He said demonstrations were ignited by the crisis, which were "by-products of the New Order's zealous economic development" which disregarded both equitable distribution of wealth and efforts to introduce democracy.
Therefore, he said, student protests now centered on demands to reform the governing system which had been based on power rather than law.
Students also demanded that the People's Consultative Assembly convene a special plenary meeting to change the country's leadership.
"We demand all these things take place within two to six months. If not, we will increase pressure further," he said.
Gede Mahendra, general secretary of the Family of Student Actions at the University of Indonesia (UI), and a student in its school of social and political sciences.
Gede observes the sense of crisis has yet to spread evenly among his fellow students.
He said the exclusive nature of demonstrations, which have so far involved only students, should be maintained "until UI students were ready" to go out onto the streets and encourage people to join their movement.
Gede said that many people were aware of what was happening and had already decided whose side they were on, but had yet to explicitly reveal their support.
Students needed to consolidate so that their movement would not be aborted in the middle of their struggle, he said.
He recalled the movement of 1974 when student leaders were arrested, the massed body dispersed and no further action followed.
"I don't want my friends yelling along the streets and people watching us like a parade without understanding what we're doing it for," he said.
Gede said there were two objectives to be attained from protests. Reform was the short term objective while "the long term objective was to provide public political education."
Anas Urbaningrum, chairman of the Association of Moslem Students (HMI). He graduated with honors from the School of Social and Political Sciences, Airlangga University, Surabaya. Anas, born in Blitar, East Java, in 1969, is now a postgraduate student at the UI's School of Social and Political Sciences. He recently organized a dialog between HMI students across the country and government officials at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.
Anas said the current demonstrations were still at an embryonic stage and were not yet a moral force after such a long period of political apathy on university campuses. "It's a rebirth, but it has yet to mature."
He said the movement would become larger as awareness of the objectives of reform grew, as strong leadership emerged among students, and as alliances with other groups were formed.
Alliances would depend on political and economic developments, he added. "It also depends on students' ability to explain to other groups that reform is a must."
If student demands, such as the revocation of the package of five laws on politics, are not fulfilled in a year, Anas said student demonstrations would become larger.
"People power" might emerge if feelings accumulated but were given no obvious outlet, he added.
To become effective, Anas said students should get support from other groups, especially the Armed Forces.
History, he said, has shown that student movements of the 1970s and 1980s failed because of a lack of support from ABRI, while the 1966 movement succeeded due to military help.
"Support from ABRI has not yet been secured, while endorsement from other groups have only been in the form of moral support such as that offered by Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah (both large Moslem organizations)."
Anas said the government would never be able to stifle student protests through dialog.
"It's not effective. I think there is a political motive behind it," he said.
Anas said HMI would continue to press its 260,000 members across the country to join demonstrations to demand thorough economic, political and legal reforms.
"We want systemic reform. A change of a person in charge might push for democratization. But I do not believe that if Soeharto is replaced today, there would be democracy and reform of the political mechanism.
Widdi Aswindi, secretary-general of the student task force at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), West Java. He majors in planology. ITB is one of the few universities in the country which do not recognize the concept of student senates as stipulated by government regulations.
Widdi said ITB students always wanted to "conquer" public spaces. He explained this was why they wanted during every protest to march outside where "people should be free to interact with one another".
Widdi urged his friends and other activists to study even harder "to show that an activist should not necessarily perform poorly". He said his grade point average was always above a 3 on a scale up to 4.
Haryo Setyoko, secretary-general of the newly formed Coalition of Indonesian Moslem Student Movements (KAMMI). Haryo, born in Karanganyar, Central Java, in 1975, is a student at UGM's School of Social and Political Sciences, majoring in communications. KAMMI, formed in Malang, East Java, on March 29, has organized massive student demonstrations in Jakarta, Bogor in West Java, Malang and Surabaya in East Java, Solo and Semarang in Central Java and Yogyakarta.
Haryo said, through demonstrations, students grouped in KAMMI wanted to contribute a fresh perspective, based on Islamic teaching, for better political and economic life.
The New Order government "has made a big mistake by allowing liberal principles to dominate the economy" without limits on the control of assets by the privileged, he said.
The political system, which he likened to "a monarchy" without features of a modern state containing balancing mechanisms, should also be corrected.
Haryo, a son of a high school teacher, also said KAMMI wanted to stress the importance of moral reform to reduce corruption, nepotism and collusion. He added that such messages would use peaceful means.
"We will never force anyone to accept our view, but we will continue to be a pressure group in the absence of significant reforms.
"We will keep giving political enlightment to the people. But everything will depend on when they want reforms to happen."
Haris Rusli Moti, chairman of the Committee of People's Struggle for Reform (KPRP). Moti, born in Ternate, Maluku, in 1975, is a student in UGM's School of Letters, majoring in archeology. KPRP was set up in a rally at UGM attended by about 2,000 students on April 2, which ended up in a clash with security personnel. Eighty-eight students were reportedly injured.
Moti said KPRP was established to involve as many people as possible in the student movement and to use the "golden moment" to promote democracy.
"The people must be involved because so far protests are still confined with student labels and tend to be an elite movement."
Moti said KPRP used a step-by-step strategy: marketing the issue of democracy, mobilizing people for demonstrations and helping coordinate the setting up a "reform council" consisting of "pro-reform parties".
"This reform council will form a transition committee, dissolve the House of Representatives, and conduct a democratic general election to form an independent House."
The new House would initiate total reforms, he said.
When people already have increased understanding of their political rights and the need for democratization, it would be easier for KPRP to mobilize them to join student protests, he said.
He said gradual reforms, as promised by the government, would fail to solve the crisis of confidence.
Dadan Suparjo, chairman of the student senate at Airlangga University in Surabaya. Born in March 1974, the calm-looking Dadan was among the activists who agreed to attend the dialog with 15 ministers in Kemayoran, Jakarta.
"The dialog was not an aim, but just one way to convey our aspirations. The talks were lively but ministers were wavering in their responses. There was no similarity in language and perception," said the student who hails from Ciamis, West Java and is majoring in political science.
"Economic reform cannot be separated from political reform," he said. Students' demands should be responded to without prejudice, "more so in a time when both domestic and international confidence in the government is low." (team)