Triono Wahyu Sudibyo, Semarang – Two student groups have held actions to commemorate July 271. One of the groups presented the Central Java National Election Commission (KPU) with a gift of rotten tomatoes while another group brought flowers. Both condemned the repressiveness of the military and demanded that cases involving the shooting of students be investigated.

The first group calling itself the Central Java Poor People’s Front for Struggle (Front Perjuangan Rakyat Miskin, FPRM) which is made up of the People’s Democratic Party (PRD), the National Student League for Democracy (LMND) and the Indonesian National Student Movement (GMNI), started their action at the Semarang water fountain on Jalan Pahlawan on Tuesday July 27. After a few minutes of speeches they held a long-march towards the KPU offices on Jalan Veteran.

At around 11am they arrived at the KPU offices and immediately began giving speeches rejecting all of the presidential candidates including those who have made it through to the second round. “None of the presidential candidates are suitable to lead this country. We therefore reject the results of the [July 5] presidential elections and call for the military institutions from the territorial military commands down to village to be abolished”, shouted action coordinator Badrun during breaks in the action.

A short time later they wanted to throw rotten tomatoes as a symbol of the rottenness of the election administration however scores of police who had been on guard from the start prevented them from doing so. After negotiations, the demonstrators asked for permission to enter the grounds of the KPU offices to give the tomatoes to members of the KPU. After negotiations with a KPU staff member they were finally allowed to enter.

One of the KPU members, Hasyim Asy’ari, who was waiting for them inside, was immediately presented with a plastic bag full of rotten tomatoes by the 50 or so students. After Asy’ari had taken the tomatoes the demonstrators shouted and yelled and sung songs of struggle.

At around 12.30pm the demonstrators left and returned to the water fountain where the action began. Scores of police could be seen escorting them as they directed traffic.

At a different location meanwhile, a group of students calling themselves the Student Forum Against Repression (Forum Mahasiswa Anti Represifitas) also held a similar demonstration. The coalition of Student Executive Councils from the University of Diponegoro (Undip) started their action at Undip campus at 10am. Because the water fountain was already being used by the FPRM group in the end they head off to the Central Java KPU offices where they distributed flowers as a symbol of peace against violence. They also handed out a leaflet which condemned the failure to resolved the Trisakti, Semanggi and other cases2.

While they were handing out the flowers the demonstrators who were wearing their university faculty jackets sang the song “Fall of the Flower”. At 11.30am they ended the action and return to the campus which is only around 500 meters from where they were demonstrating. (nrl)

Notes:

1. Following weeks of protests at the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters in Central Jakarta by pro-Megawati PDI supporters after the Suharto regime engineered Megawati’s removal as the party’s democratically elected chairperson, on July 27, 1966, paid thugs backed by the military attacked and destroyed the PDI offices resulting in the death of as many as 50 people. Popular outrage at the attack sparked several days of mass rioting and violent clashes with police. Many had hoped that with Megawati’s ascendancy to the presidency those responsible would be held accountable however Megawati and other leading party figures have publicly distanced themselves (refusing to attend annual commemorations) from the issue. Those who were eventually brought to trial in late 2003 have all been low ranking soldiers or civilians and have either been acquitted for lack of evidence or given light sentences. None of those believed to have organised or led the attack have been brought to trial.

2. In May 1998, security personnel shot into a crowd of student protesters from the Trisakti University near their campus in West Jakarta, killing four students and injuring several. This proved to be the spark which set-off three days of mass demonstrations and rioting in Jakarta which eventually lead to the overthrow of former President Suharto. The Semanggi I and II cases involved the fatal shooting of dozens of student demonstrators in Jakarta in November 1998 and September 1999 respectively.

[Translated by James Balowski.]