By James Balowski
Amid massive student protests across the country, the Indonesian government has called for "dialogue", and at the same time threatened to use "repressive measures" to stop the demonstrations. But the threats and the state-sanctioned disappearance of as many as 50 pro-democracy activists have failed to stop the protests from becoming more widespread, more coordinated and more militant.
The April 17 Jakarta daily Kompas, in an address for the 46th anniversary celebrations of the army's special force, Kopassus, quoted President Suharto as saying that security forces could use "repressive measures if peaceful persuasion failed to calm boisterous students".
He said this should be carried out "within the law", but hinted that if local officials and police could not "maintain national security and order", Kopassus troops would be brought in.
The threats follow failed attempts to hold a "dialogue" with students. After refusing to heed such a call by armed forces chief Wiranto in mid-March, on April 18, 250 students and scholars met with Wiranto and 16 cabinet ministers, including Suharto's daughter, social affairs minister Siti "Tutut" Hardiyanti Rukmana.
Even though the groups represented at the meeting are affiliated to the state party Golkar, an April 18 report by Reuters said students "launched a full-blown attack on the government", accusing Suharto "of failing to respect the people's desires".
"We are here to struggle for reform. We have seen how arrogant power is. The government has never even said sorry for the [economic] crisis which has strangled the people", said one student.
"If the president and cabinet ministers are unable to lead the country, then they should have the guts to step down", said another.
Wiranto tried to placate students, asking them to give the government more time. Tutut reportedly said, "We are ready to be criticised".
No concrete solutions were proposed or agreed to.
The day before, in the Central Java city of Solo, police used tear gas to break up a protest by some 2000 students calling for Suharto's resignation. On the day of the meeting, the Jakarta Post said student demonstrations were held in Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi, Jakarta and Yogyakarta, Central Java.
On April 24, Associated Press said a student was shot in the hand and at least 10 injured in Mataram, the capital of Lombok, in eastern Indonesia, when 1000 students tried to march to the local parliament.
The April 25 Jakarta Post said that in Denpasar, Bali, at least 12 students were injured in clashes at the Udayana University. Reuters said that on the same day, 40 students from the Ibnu Chaldun University in east Jakarta were detained but later released. The authorities say they may be charged later.
Student demonstrations in Medan, North Sumatra, which began on March 18, have been some of the most militant. According to Reuters, 5000 students demonstrated on April 28 on four different campuses, and as many as 25 students were detained.
On April 29, students shouting anti-Suharto slogans and accusing him of responsibility for the economic crisis battled security forces for more than six hours. Using two armoured cars and firing repeated rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets, security forces were able to keep students from leaving the University of North Sumatra. Water cannons with yellow dye were also used.
On the same day, it was announced that the university would be closed down until May 7, until "tensions cooled".
In another incident in Medan, students hurled stones at a traffic police officer. After the officer ran, students set his motorcycle on fire, sending black plumes of smoke into the air as the petrol tank exploded.
The stand-off at the university continued until late in the evening, with students making regular forays to hurl stones at troops and hurl molotov cocktails at armoured cars.
Around 100 students from the University of Nommensen in Medan also protested, burning tyres and holding up traffic for hours. Witnesses say they were dispersed only after police fired repeated rounds of tear gas and rubber bullets.
These are the most militant student demonstrations since the New Order seized power in 1965 — even in comparison with the student demonstrations of 1974 and 1978, in which scores were killed and jailed. As well as having an explicit anti-Suharto focus, they are also taking up broader political issues such as self-determination for East Timor.
Although political activities on Indonesian universities were prohibited in 1978 in a package of decrees known as the "normalisation of campus life", the military have, so far, been unwilling to break up demonstrations as long as they remain on campus. In almost every case where clashes have occurred, students have been attempting to rally to other campuses or march to local parliaments.
What the regime fears most is that students will link up with broader forces — particularly the urban poor and workers — and it has repeatedly warned students not to take their demonstrations into the streets.
In defiance of these threats, the Jakarta Post said on April 18, 10,000 students from 16 universities in Surabaya, East Java, marched kilometres through residential neighbourhoods, where residents, particularly "housewives", joined in calling for prices to be reduced. Motorists also stopped and joined the protest.
Dozens of housewives joined students listening to fiery speeches by activists from the West Java Bandung Institute of Technology on April 25.
The Jakarta Post said that on April 25, 20,000 Muslim student demonstrators were joined by housewives and labourers at the Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta.
On the same day, Media Indonesia quoted a Jakarta military commander, Major-General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, as saying that the military had asked university rectors "to monitor student demonstrations, because there is a network which calls itself 'Indonesian Opposition Resistance Action' which is trying to get into the campuses to link up with students".
He also said, "This network is trying to take advantage of all elements in society who are prejudiced against the current situation", adding that the military was investigating the organisation.
On April 18, Gatra magazine reported that 20,000 students from universities across Java gathered at a meeting in Jakarta titled "Mass Meeting of Indonesian Students and People".
On April 19, 500 students attended a discussion at the University of Indonesia which unanimously rejected the April 18 "dialogue".
The real challenge for students now is how to broaden their protests into a political opposition. If the regime is successful in confining the demonstrations to campuses, the opposition is unlikely to be able to become a real challenge to the regime.
A. Sutarji, a student activist and People's Democratic Party member who attended the Asia Pacific Conference in Sydney, described the student movement as the vanguard of the democratic movement in Indonesia and said that students are no longer willing to be pacified by concessions from the regime.
"It is not possible to hold dialogue with the military; we know that from experience. Only when the dual role of the military and the repressive political laws are abolished will this be possible."
Sutarji emphasised that Suharto will never accept this because he depends on these pillars to stay in power. "The task of the student movement is to take its struggle into the streets, to link up with the people. Only then can the student movement develop into a broader opposition which can overthrow the Suharto regime."
[James Balowski is Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor's publications and information officer.]