By Sarah Peart
Six Australian student movement leaders have united to condemn the latest Indonesian military and police violence against students in that country, and to initiate a campaign of solidarity by students and student organisations in Australia.
On March 19, two women students were killed in the Indonesian city of Lampung after a peaceful demonstration on their university campus demanding democratic reforms was attacked by riot police and the military. More than 100 students were arrested and 55 are missing.
Those arrested suffered extreme police brutality. Many had broken limbs, cracked heads, bruises and other wounds.
The two women who died were taken to a military hospital and put under tight guard. The military has refused to confirm their deaths or release their bodies.
The Australian student activists' state:
"We the undersigned both condemn the violence of the military and the Indonesian regime and express our solidarity with the students of Indonesia. The "crime" of these students, for which two of them have already died, was to demand political reforms and democracy from a dictatorial and brutal government, to say "enough is enough".
"We also say enough is enough. It is time people in Australia expressed their support for those facing repression in Indonesia, and their disgust and condemnation of the stance of our own government, which acts to prop up Suharto and his cronies.
"The Australian government is complicit in the murder of these students — it trains the Indonesian commandoes, it runs joint exercises with the Indonesian military, it provides monetary aid and it acts as Suharto's advocate in the international arena. This has to stop.
"We promise our support for the students in Indonesia and pledge to begin a campaign by students, student unions and student representative councils across Australia to end the repression of student activists in Indonesia.
"We call on all students, student organisations and the broader community to support this campaign and end the repression in Indonesia."
The statement is signed by Marina Carman, vice-president, Sydney University Students' Representative Council; Nick Soudakoff, education vice-president, University of Canberra Students' Association; Kathy O'Driscoll, women's officer, Students' Representative Council, Southern Cross University, Lismore; Ray Fulcher, co-education officer, Melbourne University Student Union; Zanny Begg, education officer, Queensland branch of the National Union of Students; and Sean Healy, national coordinator, Resistance. All are members of the socialist youth organisation Resistance