BLACK FRIDAY<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Twelve people died and dozens were injured as
\nparts of the Indonesian capital turned into a virtual battlefield
\non Friday pitting students, supported by the masses, against
\nheavily armed police and soldiers.<\/p>\n
The number of fatalities is expected to rise as several of the
\ninjured were in an extremely critical condition.<\/p>\n
Clashes broke out in various places of the city as
\nantigovernment protesters led by students, tried vainly to march
\ntoward the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), where a Special
\nSession was underway to endorse various reform proposals which
\nstudents said were not far-reaching enough.<\/p>\n
Security forces used light tanks, armed personnel carriers,
\nwater cannons, and fired tear gas and bullets to confront the
\nmarching protesters and disperse them. The demonstrators
\nresponded with stones and anything they could get their hands on.<\/p>\n
Protesters at the Semanggi cloverleaf, the scene of the worst
\nviolence during the Friday the 13th clashes, were seen throwing
\nMolotov cocktails toward the troops.<\/p>\n
Shooting began at the cloverleaf, about 1.5 kilometers from
\nthe Assembly building, at 3:40 p.m. and did not end until 10:30
\np.m.<\/p>\n
Reporters described the incident as a bloody massacre as
\ntroops -- from the ground and roofs of nearby skyscrapers --
\nfired at the students and the masses.<\/p>\n
\"It looks like a film about troops pitted against a crowd of
\npeople sentenced to death,\" said a radio reporter in a live
\nbroadcast.<\/p>\n
Clashes also occurred on the nearby toll road at the Slipi
\nintersection in West Jakarta and near the Youth Statue at the
\nSenayan circle in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
As of Saturday morning, 12 people had died and more than 150
\nwere injured, most by gunshots.<\/p>\n
However, it remained unknown whether or not the troops were
\narmed with live bullets in addition to rubber bullets and blanks.<\/p>\n
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar M. Sianipar said
\nnone of the police personnel were equipped with live bullets.<\/p>\n
\"We haven't needed live bullets, so far,\" he said. There was
\nno comment from the military on the issue.<\/p>\n
Scores were arrested but police were not available to give an
\nexact figure.<\/p>\n
Hospital sources identified the dead victims as Sigit
\nPrasetyo, 18, of YAI accountant college (shot in the chest),
\nBernardus R. Norman Irmawan, alias Wawan, 20, of Atma Jaya
\nCatholic University (also in the chest) and Teddy Madani of
\nIndonesian Technology Institute in Serpong (gunshot in the neck).<\/p>\n
Two others, Muzamil Djoko Purwanto and Abdullah, both from the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, died after suffering severe injuries to
\ntheir heads.<\/p>\n
All of them were shot during the clash with the troops in
\nfront of the Atma Jaya hospital.<\/p>\n
Four of the remaining dead victims were unidentified but were
\nidentified as members of the Volunteer Security Unit which
\nstrongly supported the session. They were found severely beaten
\nto death by mobs on Jl. Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, in the
\nafternoon.<\/p>\n
One of the victims was found with his face and body badly
\nmutilated, a thin iron bar and a stick protruding from his mouth.<\/p>\n
At 1 a.m. Saturday, three more people were confirmed dead. Two
\nwere identified as Sulistyanto from YAI and Meiliana; the third
\nwas an unidentified man.<\/p>\n
Students began to gather after the Moslem Friday midday
\nprayers.<\/p>\n
The students were concentrated at Atma Jaya University near
\nthe Semanggi cloverleaf, at the Salemba campus of the University
\nof Indonesia (UI) and Trisakti University in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The number of demonstrators grew as many local residents also
\ntook to the streets.<\/p>\n
A huge crowd took over all 10 lanes of Jl. Sudirman in front
\nof Atma Jaya University while another sea of protesters packed
\nthe street in front of the UI Salemba campus.<\/p>\n
Troops dispatched to Atma Jaya hastily diverted the traffic
\nand repeatedly ordered the crowd to disperse. Tanks and armed
\npersonnel carriers moved to the front line to drive the
\ndemonstrators away.<\/p>\n
At 3:40 p.m., shots were heard. Only a few of the protesters
\nscattered: many others challenged the security officers and
\nyelled at them.<\/p>\n
The students only scurried for safety after dozens were
\nwounded.<\/p>\n
\"Allahu Akbar (God is Great),\" shouted the students repeatedly
\nas they carried away the injured bodies of their colleagues.<\/p>\n
\"Hang Wiranto!,\" shouted others, referring to Minister of
\nDefense and Security\/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto.<\/p>\n
Students recalled that the troops were brutal, saying they
\nfired indiscriminately toward the heavy crowd of the protesters.<\/p>\n
\"I saw my friends Wawan and Teddy shot in front of our campus
\nhere,\" Norman of Atma Jaya University said.<\/p>\n
The crowd swelled after tens of thousands of students and
\npeople who had marched from Salemba joined the protesters at Atma
\nJaya.<\/p>\n
Sharpshooters were seen firing from the middle of the GKBI
\nbuilding and from the roof of the neighboring BRI tower,
\nimmediately above the sea of protesters.<\/p>\n
The vanguard of the demonstrators consisted of students from
\nuniversities in Jakarta and other cities as well as reform and
\nanti-Special Session groups.<\/p>\n
Many people with bleeding hands covering their wounded heads
\nand bodies were seen running toward the Benhill area shortly
\nafter the troops opened fire on the crowd.<\/p>\n
By late Friday, the Jakarta hospital -- the closest hospital
\nto the Semanggi clash -- had treated 82 wounded people, Cipto
\nMangunkusumo 51, St. Carolus hospital 30, and Pertamina Hospital
\n16, including two soldiers.<\/p>\n
At the Senayan circle incident, a plainclothes military
\nofficer was arrested by students. The soldier was believed to
\nhave provoked the clash. The fate of the soldier is unknown.<\/p>\n
As the Atma Jaya clash was just beginning in the afternoon,
\ncrowds of people were seen gathering at several other spots in
\nthe city, such as Palmerah Barat, Pondok Indah, Lebak Bulus,
\nKampung Melayu and Jembatan Besi.<\/p>\n
The crowd at Atma Jaya began to disperse at midnight when
\nstudents demanded the troops take responsibility for the wounded
\npeople.<\/p>\n
The clashes the previous day claimed at least two lives,
\nincluding Pvt. Prayitno from the Jakarta Police's Mobile Brigade
\nand senior high school student Lukman Firdaus.<\/p>\n
In Washington, the White House expressed concern about the
\nclashes and called for calm.<\/p>\n
\"We are obviously concerned about any use of force,\" spokesman
\nDavid Leavy was quoted by AFP as saying. \"We've been urging both
\nsides to show restraint.\"<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia has taken some important steps forward, but they're
\nobviously going through a difficult transition,\" Leavy said,
\nadding that Washington was working hard to promote Indonesia's
\ntransition to democracy.<\/p>\n
Expression of concerns and condemnation came from religious
\nleaders and opposition politicians in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
\nlambasted the military's heavy-handed measures against
\ndefenseless students who he said were fighting for truth and
\njustice.<\/p>\n
\"They were shot at. They were forced to us Molotov cocktails
\nbecause they had nothing to fight back with.<\/p>\n
\"The Armed Forces members, who are supposed to be valiant,
\nshould stop the use of violence for the fulfillment of the
\npersonal ambitions of certain individuals,\" he said in a
\nstatement broadcast by SCTV television.<\/p>\n
\"NU and I myself are prepared to continue the students'
\nunfinished struggle,\" he added later.<\/p>\n
Former environmental minister Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, now
\nHabibie's ardent critics, was in tears when he said: \"I'm
\nspeechless.\"<\/p>\n
But he added that the government, in this case the Armed
\nForces chief, and his men, should be held responsible.<\/p>\n
\"With this incident, the government has lost any legitimacy it
\nhad. It had lost its moral right to govern, and can only stay in
\npower by force,\" Sarwono said as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Government critic Sri Bintang Pamungkas said the bloody clash
\nreflected the failure of President Habibie's administration to
\ncommand people's respect.<\/p>\n
\"They (Habibie and his ministers) have to step down,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Archbishop Kardinal Julius Darmaatmadja said in a
\nstatement that he had talked to Abdurrahman about the situation.
\nThey said they shared the grief and anxiety which most Jakartans
\nwere feeling.<\/p>\n
\"Tonight, our anxiety became deeper because the situation has
\ngotten worse. We were shocked and saddened. We asked ourselves
\nthe meaning of the incidents on the campuses and in the streets
\nwhere there were conflicts,\" Kardinal Darmaatmadja said. (team)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/black-friday-1447899208",
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