Here's an update from our Anti-Authoritarian Network.
Several comrades from Medan, North Sumatera, last year were being dropoutted from their university --HKBP NOMMENSEN-- for Boycotting the reclamation of student orientation by the university bureaucrats. They held occupation for months but nothing happened and the university bureaucrats refused to release their transfer permission. So their 'career' as student is dead.
These students who were being kicked out from university are active students who through the years have been protesting the military violence on North Sumatera, and the Rectorat of the university is a high military official. So there are other conclusions about this.
Bored and fed up waiting for their mercy, last February these students agitate others to occupy the university and burned it down. They isolated the bureaucrats and burned their cars. Now seven of them are being imprisoned. Our network there were students organization, Semapur, who were involved through the years with the farmers struggles. Our comrades on South Celebes (Sulawesi different island), Makassar, yesterday were arrested because of graffiti and were accused of subversion. Luckily, there's no charges and they were released. The Graffiti was read "I Love You Sweetheart, Lets Smash the State" (In Indonesian of course)...
Me and my own collectives, Affinitas, are in central Java, we are involved also with the peasant struggle against cement industry that were going to be built in a small village, Pati.
We need all the help from the anarchists abroad!
From Asian Anarchist Network
SEVEN OF NOMMENSEN STUDENTS WERE ARRESTED ACCUSED OF BURNING AND DESTROYING THEIR UNIVERSITY
WE DEMAND THEIR UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE!
HKBP NOMMENSEN is a batak-christian University located in North Sumatera, Medan.
It all started on August 2007 when PENMARU (new students orientation) were taken over by the rectorate. This causes anger on the behalf of students. When the student orientation were started, on Gelanggang Remaja Medan, around twenty students came in to boycott and taking over the microphone stating that the event are not legitimate because student were in no part in organizing it. After that, the rectorate decides to stopped the student orientation.
The frequent flows of boycott led to scorsing of twenty students and the firing of twenty-two students. According to Nommensen students, only twenty people were participating in the boycotting, so there are other students who don?t know anything about it and were accused of participating. When the rectorate issued this scorsing and firing letters, the students are getting anxious. Students starting to create a massive pressure and forced the rectorate to make statement. This time the statement is somehow doesn?t make any sense. The rectorate accused those students of imposibbility for academia, gamblers, dangerous drug addicts. And this statement held no connection with the boycotting of the student orientation that led the scorsing and the firing.
The occupation of HKBP University started on October and at the same time they continue to spread solidarity campaign among students and other campuses. On November, the parents of these students met with the rectorate, but the meeting ended up wasting their time. Its getting more suspicious when they find out that there are no legal letters about the scorsing and firing. Until February 2008, fed up with the useless protests and compromises, the angry students started to destroy the university. On February 20th, Seven of them were held into custody and accused of 'Property Destruction'.
Most of the students involved are student activists. They were part of Nommensen Discussion Group (KDN) who serve as a catalyst for student radicalization in their campus. These active students were disturbing the rectorate plan to militarize the campus. One of the fact is that the rector is a high military official. So it is obvious that these student group are a threat for the university. The reclamation of student orientation were a plan to militarise the campus and to cut student organization from having direct control to it.
Therefore, we, Solidaritas Anti-Otoritarian, urge you to express your solidarity with the arrested students and to demand the unconditional release of the Seven students of Nommensen:
The names are:
- Jhoni Walinton Butarbutar
- Chandra Manurung
- Bernard Simaremare
- Bernard Marpaung
- Horas Simanjuntak
- Joshua Nababan
- Dian Sinulingga
What you can do?
Issue a statement to your nearest Indonesian embassy for their unconditional release. Making direct protest. Or anything that you thought might help to release our imprisoned comrades. The struggle continues!
Further communication:
affinitas(at)riseup.net
arm_da_spirit(at)yahoo.com