Students want transparency in tragic Bogor fire case<\/p>\n
BOGOR (JP): Fifteen student activists have urged the Bogor
\nLegislative Council to see to it that the real facts behind the
\nfire, which claimed 10 lives and engulfed Pasar Anyar market two
\nyears ago, were revealed.<\/p>\n
The activists, who went to the council, were representatives
\nof the Association of Islamic Students (HMI), Association of
\nCatholic Students (PMKRI), the Indonesian Islamic Students
\nMovement (PMII) and the Christian Students Movement (GMKI).<\/p>\n
\"We come here in a small number now, but if our demand is
\nignored we will return in greater numbers,\" Y.D. Sanrego, the
\nprotesters' spokesman, said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The students said they were demanding transparency in the case
\nbecause three suspects in the incident had never been brought to
\ntrial.<\/p>\n
The three suspects -- store manager Eko Manager and security
\nofficers Andi Subekti and Cecep Imam Sudrajat -- were accused of
\nnegligence, which led to the deaths of 10 employees of Ramayana
\nDepartment Store inside the market building on March 26.<\/p>\n
The negligence included, among other things, the
\nmalfunctioning of the fire alarm, the absence of any announcement
\nof employees still being inside the store, the lack of fire
\nextinguishers, the inaccessibility of emergency exits and a lack
\nof security officers.<\/p>\n
Then Bogor Regional Police chief Col. Dadang Garnida said at
\nthe time that the dossiers of the three suspects had been handed
\nover to the Bogor Prosecutor's Office, Sanrego said.<\/p>\n
However the then prosecutor's office chief, Umar, insisted
\nthat the case was not yet complete, saying there were more
\nrequirements to be met before bringing the case to court, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to Sanrego, the case had never been tried and Dadang
\nand Umar were replaced, on Nov. 26, last year and on Feb. 16 this
\nyear respectively.<\/p>\n
The fire became highly controversial as newspapers reported
\nthat 76 employees died in the fire, but officials later claimed
\nthere were only 10 deaths.<\/p>\n
Besides demanding transparency about the fire, the activists
\nalso urged the council to investigate other illegal practices,
\nincluding land disputes, deviations in the construction of
\nbuildings and the destruction of water catchments.<\/p>\n
The activists were received yesterday by councilor Ismail, who
\npromised to channel their demands to related parties. (24\/jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/students-want-transparency-in-tragic-bogor-fire-case-1447893297",
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