After Palembang-South Sulawesi, today vendors around Hassanuddin University (UNHAS) in Makassar South Sulawesi also being evicted by the police and campus security guards. Hundreds of vendors together with activists from National Student League for for Democracy-LMND UNHAS commissar, and some democratic movement in Makassar including People´s Democratic Party (PRD) of Makassar, backed up the demonstration. Military and thugs repressed the protest action; they attacked, hit, and throw vendors and students holding out at stalls around campus.
Five people arrested and taken to the regional police station, they are: Rudi (Chairperson of LMND South Sulawesi Region, Alif (Chairperson of Regional Ladership Committee of PRD South Sulawesil), Stuben (Chairperson of LMND 1945 University commissar), Basri (National Front of Indonesian Labor Struggle-FNPBI Makassar), Amran (KPRM/vendors). For-pay thugs still arrested tens of vendors and students until now.
Weeks ago, the same incident happened in Palembang, South Sumatra followed the peddler´s resistance against eviction of 16 traditional markets. The secretary of People Rally for Justice (BARAK), Mulyadi, arrested in regional Police Station of Palembang without any sentence order by police without uniform. He was still being arrested in that police station without lawyer and any visited permit.
Those cases added the undemocratic list´s character of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY)-Kalla government. It also proof the failures of government in carry out people´s welfare because of their unpopular character. PRD condemn the repressed and intimidated action by the military against people and student activists, and also demand the fair investigation and release all activists without charge.
Jakarta, May 30th 2005
Zely Ariane
International Officer of PRD
