ANU Indonesian students join protest
More than 50 Indonesian students from the ANU gathered last week at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra to protest against the killing of at least six students from Trisakti University in Jakarta, during clashes with Indonesian authorities. The Canberra protest followed the violent government crackdown last week against peaceful demonstrations by students in Indonesia. The government began an inquiry into the death of the students, who were shot with live ammunition despite instructions that police use rubber bullets. A representative of the ANU student group read a statement directly to Ambassador Wiryono in a meeting at the Embassy. "Firstly, we offer our condolences to the families of the six victims. "Secondly, we condemn the murder of six students of Trisakti University by the Indonesian security forces. "Thirdly, we demand that the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and the President of Indonesia, retired General Soeharto takes full responsibility for these murders." The student representatives later said that they felt it was time to publicly repudiate the violence and brutality of the Soeharto regime and demonstrate their concern about the need for reform in Indonesia. "We are part of the sea of change in the attitudes and sympathies of Indonesia's political, academic and business circles." The ANU group is the first of overseas Indonesian students to protest directly to their Ambassador. They said they wanted to indicate to their government that it had crossed a line from which there would be no turning back. The students said they were part of a growing number of Indonesians, in Australia and overseas, who were united in voicing their concerns about the deteriorating situation in Indonesia. Like their counterparts in Indonesia, Indonesian students in Canberra said they were deeply discontented with the leadership of President Soeharto. "He has led the country into the worst economic crisis in his 32-year rule, now there is a crisis of confidence in President Soeharto himself," they said.