Youth forum calls for fair general election

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)