Students in Southeast Asian Politics

I N SOUTHEAST ASIA, students have long been active in the political process, but there is no clear and uniform answer to the question why they suddenly leave their books and classes for the streets and barricades, no way to judge how long they will remain there and no explanation why they return when they do, leaving (in most cases) the issue half resolved. Those who have watched students in this region, as elsewhere in the world, wonder whether they are a permanent political force or a temporary phenomenon. Students in Southeast Asia, have had an uneven experience in the politics of their nations. In Indonesia writers and participants alike recall the generation of 1945 and the generation of i966 and the role each played in the struggle for independence and later, the reordering of the political system following the coup in i965.1 During the past few years, the military rulers in Indonesia have taken a more repressive stand, especially after the student protest against waste and corruption in 197i and the demonstrations against the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister in 1973. Burma has an even older tradition of students in politics which dates from 1920 when they entered as a part of the nationalist movement and continued to be active until the soldiers-in-power set out to suppress them following the military coup of i962.2 As will be seen, they have sought to revive as a political force since 1974. In Singapore, certain students-especially those in the Chinese-language stream-played a vigorous role in the ideological

Ancient history · Geography · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Southeast asia · Asian Studies and History · Gender Studies · History · Law

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