Students demand truth on riot death toll<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Some 100 students demanded yesterday that the
\ngovernment be more \"transparent\" about the number of deaths in
\nlast month's street protests in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
\"We want transparent investigations into what happened during
\nthe riots, including the number of deaths,\" Garda, one of the
\nprotesters, told reporters.<\/p>\n
\"We believe that the number of fatalities is in fact higher
\nthan what the government has admitted,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The students, hailing from various provinces, were organized
\ninto a group calling itself the Front of People's Action (FARI).
\nThey staged a one-hour protest in front of the office of the
\nCoordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security, Soesilo
\nSoedarman.<\/p>\n
Unable to meet with the minister, the banner-waving students
\nleft the office at 12 p.m., dispersing peacefully under the
\nwatchful eyes of security officers.<\/p>\n
The government and the National Commission on Human rights,
\neach conducting separate investigations, said that three people
\ndied in the Ujungpandang protest. Students, however, claim that
\nthey lost up to eight colleagues during the violence.<\/p>\n
Twelve soldiers will be court-martialled this month for their
\nalleged \"excessive response\" to the violent protest, which
\ninvolved an estimated 10,000 students from various universities
\nin Ujungpandang.<\/p>\n
Students in Ujungpandang took to the streets in a wave of
\ndemonstrations which began on April 22 to protest the public bus
\nfare increase from Rp 300 (13 U.S. cents) to Rp 500.<\/p>\n
The protesters clashed with security officers who entered
\ntheir campuses, chasing students with rattan sticks and making
\narrests.<\/p>\n
Separately, secretary-general of the Ministry of Home Affairs
\nSuryatna Soebrata took lightly the Ujungpandang students' demand
\nthat Ujungpandang's mayor resign in connection with the incident.<\/p>\n
The authority to decide whether mayor Malik B. Masri should
\nresign or not lies with the local legislative council, he said.<\/p>\n
Suryatna said he had not received any request for the mayor to
\nresign. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/students-demand-truth-on-riot-death-toll-1447893297",
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