Trisakti mother still hopes for justice<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Five years have passed since four students from Trisakti
\nUniversity were shot to death in front of their campus on May 12,
\n1998, but justice has been elusive for their families.<\/p>\n
Elang Mulya Lesmana, Hafidhin Royan, Hendriawan Sie and Hery
\nHartanto became martyrs in the movement which triggered the
\ndownfall of Soeharto.<\/p>\n
The same injustice is also felt by other parents whose
\nchildren were killed in student rallies in front of Atma Jaya
\nUniversity. That incident -- claimed the lives of 12 students and
\ncivilians -- and is now referred to as Black Friday.<\/p>\n
To this day, the parents' spirit for justice remains high
\nalthough the House of Representatives (DPR) determined that the
\nkillings were \"not a human rights violation\".<\/p>\n
\"I have to admit that I feel bored being asked the same
\nquestions all over again each year about the tragedy,\" Elang's
\nmother Hiratetty Yoganandita, better known as Tetty, told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
\"However we must keep the memory alive so the tragedy can be
\nsolved quickly in the near future,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Around 100 students and lecturers from Trisakti gathered at
\nthe Tanah Kusir Public Cemetery in South Jakarta on Saturday
\nafternoon to commemorate the tragedy.<\/p>\n
Only low-ranking security officers have been punished in the
\ncase, and even that was only referred to as a \"procedural
\nslip-up\" instead of a gross human rights violation.<\/p>\n
Elang, a former student of architecture, is buried next to
\nHery Hartanto who was a mechanical engineering student.
\nHendriawan is buried in Kamal, West Jakarta and Hafidhin in
\nBandung.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sure there will be justice someday, but we don't know
\nwhen,\" Tetty said. \"When Allah wants it to happen, it will
\nhappen.\"<\/p>\n
Three presidents have replaced Soeharto but, according to
\nTetty, none of them have paid the proper attention to the case.<\/p>\n
\"I strongly believe they don't have any intention of solving
\nthe case. All the evidence is there. It's a matter of their
\nwill.\"<\/p>\n
She said it would be very easy to point out who was
\nresponsible as everybody knows who the field commanders and their
\nsuperiors were.<\/p>\n
\"I don't understand. Do our state officials still have a
\nconscience?\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"We, the victims' parents, have worked hard together with the
\nuniversity and other students to see that justice is done, but to
\nno avail. It's hard to understand. Was it a case of all the
\npolitical elite being involved (in the tragedy) so they don't
\nwant it to be solved?\"<\/p>\n
She said the officials would never be in their current
\npositions without the students' sacrifice.<\/p>\n
As a mother, Tetty never considered her son's sacrifice
\nuseless.<\/p>\n
\"I still have the faith that justice will come and hopefully
\nthe 2004 general elections will produce a clean administration
\nwith a conscience to solve the tragedy once and for all.<\/p>\n
\"Even if the next elections fail to do so, we can still wait.
\nInsya Allah (God Willing), and the sacrifice won't be useless,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Tetty had to bear more grief as Elang's father Bagus
\nYoganandita died on Jan. 3, 2003, said to be due to psychological
\npressure over his child's murder.<\/p>\n
\"It's a second blow for me. Elang's father simply could not
\ntake it anymore. He was very, very disappointed with the outcome
\nof the tragedy. He could not take it,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Clad in black, with a white veil, Tetty said she has tried to
\nget over his death, but still wants the truth to come out.<\/p>\n
\"If he had not been shot, maybe he would have had a family and
\na job right now. But if I keep dwelling this, It will kill me
\ntoo. Maybe Elang would have wanted me to move on with my life.
\nBut even though I accept it, I still want the truth.\"<\/p>\n
Commenting on the student movements today, Tetty encouraged
\nthem not to lose faith, as eventually justice will prevail.<\/p>\n
Tetty added that the punishment will come either here or in
\nthe afterworld.<\/p>\n
\"I have lost my husband now, but as some consolation, maybe he
\nwill meet Hamami Nata who has also recently died,\" she said,
\nwhile adding that she did not mean to be sarcastic.<\/p>\n
\"I believe that the justice that Allah will mete out is for
\nus, the parents.\"<\/p>\n
Hamami was the City Police chief when the tragedy happened and
\npassed away last week from a respiratory ailment.<\/p>\n
\"Who knows which others will soon follow both of them?\"<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/trisakti-mother-still-hopes-for-justice-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }