---------------------------------------------------------- Visit Indonesia Daily News Online HomePage: http://www.indo-news.com/ and click banner our sponsor ---------------------------------------------------------- ASIET News Updates - December 18, 1998 ====================================== * Workers join students' protest at UI - JP * Indonesia rocked by new violence - BBC * Xanana advocates temporary autonomy scheme - AFP -------------------------------------------------------------- Workers join students' protest at UI ==================================== Jakarta Post - December 14, 1998 Jakarta -- A group of workers joined a student demonstration on Sunday at the University of Indonesia campus in Depok, West Java, as a way of expressing their wish not to be left behind by the students. "We are asking that we are not left out in the (student) struggle for reform. We want to take part in the current movement, too," said Prambudi, one of the workers. "Basically, we all have the same goal, namely a democratic Indonesia. We feel that many students have forgotten us, so we want to express our shared commitment again," he said. The gathering, which started at 10am, was attended by seven groups: the Labor Committee for Reform Action (Kobar), the Marhaen Labor Committee, the Big Family of the University of Indonesia, the Student and People's Committee for Democracy, Students Care for People (Ampera), the Student Family of University of Islam Jakarta and the Proreform People's Movement. The 800 workers and students sang songs, staged orations and waved banners which read, among other things, We Want Wage Raise, Price Down, STOP Repression and ABRI (Armed Forces) Go Away. "Many of the workers were stranded and failed to get here because they were blocked by security forces at four points in Cakung, East Jakarta, Kapuk, North Jakarta, and Tangerang and Kalideres, West Jakarta," Kobar's Mai Roma said. The gathering was also highlighted by the reading of a letter from student activist Dita Indah Sari, who is imprisoned in Tangerang Penitentiary for leading a labor protest in July 1996. "This is the right moment for workers to stand up and fight for their rights. I never doubted you and I still believe in you (workers), now, she said. The crowd dispersed at 3pm. "This is just a warming-up session. We want to continue our movement because we think that the government under [President] Habibie has not done anything to better labor conditions," Ampera's Alfan Ridha said. Separately, the Student Action Front for Reforms and Democracy held a solemn prayer meeting in Jakarta for victims of the Nov. 13 incident at the Semanggi cloverleaf, which claimed 16 lives. The students showed a documentary of the incident and released names of victims, according to their version. Indonesia rocked by new violence ================================ BBC - December 16, 1998 Indonesian security forces have used tear gas and clubs to break up a large demonstration near the Defence Ministry in the capital, Jakarta. Violence also broke out in the east of the country where more than 1,500 people went on the rampage, shouting "Burn Chinese shops!" At least three students were injured and dozens were arrested in the clashes in Jakarta. The demonstrators were demanding an end to the military's role in domestic politics and for disgraced former President Suharto to stand trial on graft charges. One group of about 200 protesters managed to get into the presidential office compound in central Jakarta. Elsewhere in the capital, hundreds of students brought rush-hour traffic to a standstill as they demonstrated on the main city road and about 1,500 more protested outside the attorney- general's office to demand Mr Suharto stand trial. Meanwhile, in Samarinda, an oil town in the Indonesian part of Borneo island, more than 1,500 people attacked shops owned by ethnic Chinese. The rioting erupted after a strike by about 500 transport workers demanding cheaper spare parts. Ethnic Chinese, the country's most economically successful minority group, have been repeated targets of attacks. Education Minister Juwono Sudarsono blamed the repeated rioting across Indonesia on new political freedoms. He said he had asked the government to ban street rallies during next June's general election and restrict campaigning to indoors to reduce bloodshed. Many Indonesians hope the election, to be followed by a presidential election, will usher in a new era of democracy after 32-years of autocratic, army-backed rule under Mr Suharto. Mr Suharto's reign ended in humiliation and chaos in May amid bloody rioting, political turmoil and economic crisis. More than 100 new opposition parties have sprung up in the post-Suharto era. But Mr Juwono, once considered a moderate, said the recent unrest showed Indonesia lacked the social and economic foundations for political freedom. "The pendulum has swung too much in favour of political openness," he added. "This desire for political democracy and openness, juxtaposed with a period of endemic economic deprivation... this combination is about the most dangerous possible for political stability." Xanana advocates temporary autonomy scheme ========================================== Agence France Presse - December 16, 1998 Jakarta -- The people of East Timor should consider accepting an Indonesian offer of autonomy before a referendum on self- determination is held in the former Portuguese colony, jailed rebel leader Xanana Gusmao said in an interview published Wednesday. In the interview, given jointly to the Indonesian state Antara news agency and Portugal's Lusa agency on Tuesday, Xanana said autonomy for East Timor should only last for 10 years before a referendum is held. "What the East Timor population needs now is a formal decision which does not corner them," he added. Speaking from Jakarta's Cipinang jail where he is serving a 20- year jail term for plotting against the state and illegal possession of weapons, Xanana said East Timor was not Jakarta's only problem. "Indonesia is currently facing complex problems, and East Timor is only one of the matters that need immediate settlement," he said. He also said that the new Indonesian government of President B.J. Habibie was more accommodating than that of former president Suharto on the issue of the troubled territory, invaded by Indonesia in 1975 when Suharto was in power. "The current government is more moderate, because more problems are accommodated, including the problem of East Timor," Xanana reportedly said. Antara also quoted the jailed leader as saying that the problems of East Timor could not easily be settled, especially if narrow- minded approaches were used. The government of Habibie, who took over from Suharto in May, has offered wide-ranging autonomy for an East Timor under Indonesia. The extent of autonomy is currently being negotiated between senior officials of Indonesia and Portugal under the auspices of the UN secretary general. Jakarta has so far rejected a referendum, saying it would only lead to open conflict in East Timor. Xanana and the East Timorese pro-independence movement he leads have said that autonomy would be acceptable as long as it led to a referendum. The rebel leader also hailed the arrival here late Tuesday of a special envoy of the UN secretary general on East Timor issues, Jamsheed Marker, for a week-long visit which will also include a trip to East Timor. Marker's visit to East Timor should be "appreciated as part of efforts to settle the East Timor problem at the international scale," Xanana said. He also welcomed the intention of Portugal and Indonesia, which have had no diplomatic ties since Lisbon broke off in 1975 over the invasion, to open "interest sections" in each other's countries. Antara and Lusa entered into a cooperation agreement on Saturday that covered exchange of information and the placing of correspondents in their respective countries. ********************************************************** Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) PO Box 458, Broadway NSW 2007 Australia Phone: 61-(0)2-96901230 Fax : 61-(0)2-96901381 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WWW : http://www.peg.apc.org/~asiet/ Free Xanana Gusmao, Budiman Sujatmiko and Dita Sari! Free all political prisoners in Indonesia and East Timor! ********************************************************** ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 18 Dec 1998 jam 09:16:03 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
