INDONESIA: Students demand military, Golkar leave politics

Over the last week, Indonesian students have been demonstrating almost
daily in front of the central Jakarta home of the former Indonesian dictator
Suharto. They are calling for Suharto — who was formally charged with
embezzling state funds on August 3 — to be tried immediately.

On August 10, the students turned their attention to the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR), where they also demanded the abolition of the 38 armed
forces seats in parliament and the sacking of parliamentarians from Suharto's
Golkar party.

According to the Jakarta daily Kompas, a number of groups demonstrated
separately in front of the MPR building. One of the groups, the Islamic
Student Front, was supporting a motion before the MPR to amend Indonesia's
1949 constitution to require the implementation of the Islamic Law for
Muslims.

Around 200 demonstrators from the National Student League for Democracy
and the Independent Election Monitoring Committee called for the abolition
of the dual (social and political) role of the military and for the abolition
of the military's seats in parliament.

By JAMES BALOWSKI

From GLW issue 416