Page 8 - KLIPINGBELMAWA2042019 (SORE).docx

Judul
Suara USU’s disbanding continues to spark protests
Media
The Jakarta Post
Terbit
2 April 2019
Tone
Netral
Hal/link
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/04/02/suara-usu-s- disbanding-continues-spark-protests.html
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Rp.60.000.000
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Apriadi Gunawan
Suara USU’s disbanding continues to spark protests
Apriadi Gunawan and Sausan AtikaThe Jakarta Post
Members of the Coalition of Defending Literacy (Kobel) staged a rally on Monday in front of the Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry office in Central Jakarta to demand Minister Mohammad Nasir take action against the disbanding of the North Sumatra University (USU) student publication, which they call a suppression of freedom of expression.
The coalition, consisting of students from various institutions, lambasted USU rector Runtung Sitepu, who dismissed 18 students from the editorial board of the student publication Suara USU after they published a short story with a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) theme. The story titled “Ketika Semua Menolak Kehadiran Diriku Di Dekatnya” (Everyone Refuses My Presence Near Her) tells the story about the struggle of a young woman who falls in love with another woman.
“We demand Minister Mohammad Nasir act fairly and does not perpetuate discrimination,” the coalition said in a written statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Monday.
The rector’s decision was deemed to violate the freedom of expression, as stipulated in Article 28E of the Constitution, as well as the right to express opinions according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Human Rights Law, the coalition has said.
The coalition previously staged a rally protesting the same issue during the last Kamisan, a weekly silent protest held every Thursday opposite the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. A similar protest was also held by a number of USU students on the campus on Thursday. Protest coordinator, Felix Kristiono Simanjuntak, said the rallying students wanted to support the now-defunct student press. “We criticize the one-sided revocation of the press permit for the Suara USU student publication. This is an act of