Bandung – Two groups of Bandung students greeted Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Friday with a demonstration, criticizing the government for failing to uphold law enforcement.

The students, grouped in the Bandung Young Indonesian Front (FIM-B) and Bandung Students' Movement Association (KPMB), criticized the government for failing to enforce the law properly. They demanded that Soeharto be brought to court soon. Economic recovery had also failed, the students said. Megawati visited here to attend graduation day at the State Administration Institute.

In her address she stressed that government officials must be responsive and intelligent in articulating the people's increasing demands. "People have become more critical and more demanding for democratic government which respects human rights.

"Their main demand is clean governance, wider [regional] autonomy, proper exploitation of natural resources and an equitable financial balance between the central government and provincial and regency administrations," she told the 624 graduates.

The state-owned institute, formerly located in Jakarta, is dedicated to producing government officials. In the past its graduates held district head level posts in the regions and had great loyalty to the ruling group, Golkar.

"People are no longer the object of the government. A leadership style which lets reduces the people being merely the objects of the ruler will make no progress," she said.

Seven of the 624 graduates are East Timorese, who have decided to become Indonesian citizens. The president of the institute, Marwoto Soewito said that six of the East Timorese would be posted to West, Central and East Java respectively, while the other one will be appointed to Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.