Jakarta – The AMAR Law Firm and Public Interest Law Office says that 37 tertiary education institutions have threatened to sanction students who take part in #ReformasiDikorupsi (Reform Corruption) demonstrations to coincide with the inauguration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on October 20.
AMAR advocate Maraden Saddad said that this total was arrived at based on 72 complaints that they and rights defenders have received since September 29. The complaints were sent by email, phone calls and through the Google Forum social network.
“There were as many as 38 complaints related to violations by 37 tertiary education institutions or campuses. Meanwhile 34 reports related to violations by 32 schools”, said Saddad in a written release received by CNN Indonesia on Monday October 14.
In the release, AMAR detailed the 37 campuses which were the subject of complaints, namely the Pelita Harapan University, the Triguna Medan Computer and Information Technology Institute, the Binus Alam Sutera University, the Binus Bekasi University, the Binus Kebon Jeruk University, the Jakarta State University, the Bakrie University, the Gunadarma Depok University, the Gunadarma Central Jakarta University and the Bekasi Gunadarma University.
Then there was the President University, the Medistra Health College, the Suska Riau State Islamic University, the Tarumanegara University, the Jakarta Political and Social Sciences Institute, the London School of Public Relations, the Kalbis Institute, the Indonesian Institute of Technology, the Wahid Hasyim University, the Telkom University, the Pamulang University, the Indonesian Persada University, the Widya Mandira University, the Kalimantan Institute of Technology, the Nusantara Multimedia University and the Dian Nuswantoro University.
Next there was the Surabaya University, the East Java National Development University, the Bandung State Polytechnic, the Nusa Cendana University, the Harapan Bangsa Institute of Technology, the Surabaya Institute of Technology, the Petra Christian University, the Soegijapranata Catholic University, the Krida Wacana Christian Unviersity and the State Accountancy College.
Saddad said that in general there were five kinds of violations which were reported, namely issuing circulars banning students from joining protests, intimidation in the form of threats to force students to drop out, academic sanctions in the form of forcing students to drop out, physical punishment by school authorities and threats of sexual violence by prison inmates.
“We consider that these actions by educational institutions not only violate freedom of expression, but also the right to education in the case of sanctions to terminate or expel high-school and university students, ordering them to drop out and also suspending students”, he said.
Because of this, AMAR is appealing to campuses and schools to repeal all threats of sanctions against high-school and university students and others wanting to participate in the #ReformasiDikorupsi actions.
They have also asked the Ombudsman, the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) and the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to reprimand educational institutions that are issuing such threats.
“We are also urging the Kemenristekdikti [Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education] and the Ministry for Education and Culture not to promote bans on freedom of expression, as well as evaluating campuses and schools which enact such bans”, he said. (dhf/DAL)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “37 Kampus Ancam Sanksi Mahasiswa yang Ikut Demonstrasi”.]
