More than 500 students marched to the National Monument, near the State Palace, on Thursday to denounce the leadership of the president and vice president.

The students, protesting under the banner of the Alliance of Indonesian University Student Councils, said Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his deputy, Boediono, had failed the country.

Muhammad Sayyidi, president of the student council at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, said they wanted the administration to live up to its promises to improve the life of the nation.

“After two years of the Yudhoyono-Boediono government, we rate its performance as poor,” he said. “It has failed to improve prosperity or uphold the law.”

He also said students were angry that education standards had not been improved.

The “nine-year compulsory study” program had proven unsuccessful, he said, and students were waiting for the government’s next move.

The student demonstration, which began early in the day, included theatrical twists such as pocong (ghosts), caskets and headstones marked “education,” “health” and “law enforcement.”

Students said the symbols were intended to suggest that Indonesia was in mourning for the failed Yudhoyono-Boediono government.

The students also said the government was dragging its feet on providing social security. Elisabeth Oktofani