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Students face jail for pulling down flag

Source
Indonesian Observer - August 17, 2000

Jakarta – Six students who pulled down the Indonesian flag at the Attorney General's Office in South Jakarta yesterday could be imprisoned for up to four years.

The students, three of them female, were among 37 demonstrators staging a rally in front of the Attorney General's Office in Blok M. The protesters were demanding that former president Soeharto and his cronies be tried for corruption as soon as possible.

South Jakarta Police Chief Senior Superintendent Edward Aritonang said the six students violated Article 154 A of the Criminal Code, which states that it is illegal to desecrate the national red and white flag. He said the students had also entered a government building without permission.

The six are: M. Ismail Sambas, Reni Erlina and Rinita from Professor Dr Moestopo University; Boni Zeki from Achmad Yani University; and Dwihananto Setiawan and Riska Waili Sahalong from the Sunan Gunung Jati Institute of Islamic Studies in Bandung, West Java.

The demonstrators, grouped in the City Forum (Forkot) and Students Action Committee (KAM), came to the Attorney General's Office at midday, making speeches and chanting slogans.

At 1.15pm six of the demonstrators climbed the main fence and pulled down the national flag that had been flying in the complex's carpark. Police, who had been keeping an eye on the protest, at that point arrested the six youths.

Kebayoran Police Chief Assistant Superintendent Sujatmo, who led the arrest, told reporters the students had to be arrested for trespassing and desecrating the national flag. One of the students, Sambas, said they had not destroyed the flag, but had simply wanted to put it on one of their own flag poles.

"We carried out our action to show that we still don't feel independent, even though the country is celebrating its 55th anniversary of independence," Sambas was quoted as saying by satunet.com. "The country is still encountering many problems. The trial processes for former president Soeharto and his cronies and other KKN [corruption, collusion and nepotism] cases are very sluggish," he said.

The six students were interrogated at the Public Service division of Jakarta Police headquarters. The other 31, who were also arrested, were questioned at the Detective Unit division.

Aritonang, who attended the interrogations, said the students admitted their actions had been spontaneous. "They climbed the fence and hauled down the red and white flag spontaneously, as they were disappointed with the Attorney General's Office, which according to them is not serious in dealing with KKN cases that took place during the New Order regime," Aritonang was quoted as saying by Antara. "However, desecrating the national flag was a serious mistake," he added.

[On August 19 the Jakarta Post reported all six had been released without charges. Acting city police spokesperson Alex Mandalika said that "the students were released from all charges since the police didn't have sufficient evidence that they had really humiliated the national flag" - James Balowski.]

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