Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Around 50 students from various different tendencies, who joined together under the banner of the Anti-Imperialist People’s Alliance (Aliansi Rakyat Anti Imperialisme, ARAI), held a demonstration rejecting the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The action, which was held to commemorate Human Rights day in Yogyakarta, was held on Jalan Malioboro and began at 11am Wednesday December 10. Joining the demonstration was the Yogyakarta National Student Front, the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi), the Muslim Student Association, the Islamic Student Association-Reform, the Farmers Alliance and the APMD Student Executive Body.

In their speech, the coordinator of the action, Hersa Krisna, called on ARAI to reject the meeting between the Indonesian government and the CGI, demanded that the CGI be disbanded and called for the termination of Indonesia’s relationship with the IMF, World Bank and the WTO.

“We reject [accumulating any] new debts and [call for] the cancellation of existing debts as well as rejecting the sale of assets belonging to the people. We also condemn CGI who violates human rights and represents a form of colonialism in a new guise”, said Krisna.

A number of posters were also put up by ARAI. Among these were posters with the message “CGI is the people’s repressor”, “Break the relationships with all state donors” and “Reject the privatisation of state owned assets”.

The action ended at 12noon. The students then held a long-march from Jalan Malioboro which ended at the central post office at the Senopati intersection.

Held concurrently with this action was a demonstration by around 200 Acehnese and West Papuan students. They urged the government to end the violence in Aceh and West Papa and to try perpetrators of human rights violations.

[Translated by James Balowski.]