10 students injured in round 2 of UKI-YAI war

M. Taufiqurrahman and Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Another brawl broke out on Friday at around 10:30 a.m. between students of the YAI Persada Indonesia University and the Christian University of Indonesia (UKI) on Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta, leaving 10 students injured.

The clash, which lasted an hour, was a setback for the reconciliation established between the two universities. On Thursday, UKI students held a press briefing, stating they would stop the violence and invite students from nearby universities to promote peaceful relations.

There are seven universities in the area.

The brawl was sparked by several YAI University students who hurled objects at the UKI campus next door from a building under construction at YAI.

Around 30 UKI students emerged from their campus and retaliated against the YAI students who lined the roadside.

The students of both universities then began throwing stones, bricks and bamboo sticks at each other, with some even throwing Molotov cocktails.

A team of police officers from the Central Jakarta Police precinct cordoned off the area with three buses and a truck to stop the brawl, and used a water cannon to disperse the mob.

The students caused heavy congestion and most motorists turned around to avoid being trapped in the middle of the brawl.

UKI students claimed that 10 of their classmates were injured in the incident and were being treated at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital. Two cars parked on the road were damaged.

It was the second clash after a similar incident took place on Wednesday, injuring 15 people and damaging seven cars.

Irfan Christian, an activist with the UKI student forum, alleged that the brawl was provoked by outsiders, who would benefit from the conflict.

"There has been a plot to instigate brawls among students from universities in this area to break up students' camaraderie and good relations," he said.

Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Sukrawardi Dahlan said police would mediate between the two groups of students and find a solution through dialog.

"They (the students) don't even know why they get involved in such brawls. They have no reason for it, except as a reaction... Officials of both universities must look for the root cause behind these brawls," he said.