Youth forum calls for fair general election

JAKARTA (JP): The nine youth and student organizations in the Indonesian Nationalist Youth Forum demanded a fair general election yesterday.

The organizations released a statement saying the government and the three parties should guarantee that people can vote for any political party without fear of intimidation.

"We call for an end to intimidation of the people during the ongoing campaign," the statement said. "For a fair election, people's political rights should be guaranteed."

The forum is made up of the Indonesian Moslem Students Movement, the Indonesian Christian Youth Movement, the Democratic Youths, the Nahdlatul Ulama Youths Association, the Indonesian Nationalist Student Movement, the Nahdlatul Ulama Members' Offsprings Association, the Indonesian Christian Students Movement and the United Indonesian Hindu Dharma Students.

The forum stressed that voting in the general election was people's right, not their obligation. "So people are free to exercise or not exercise it."

The youths said the general election was meant to promote democracy and therefore the government had no reason to ban an independent poll watch dog.

Eligible voters will cast their ballots on May 29 to elect members of the House of Representatives.

The United Development Party, Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party will vie for 425 seats in the 500-seat House of Representatives. The other 75 seats are reserved for the military whose members do not vote. (05)