BLACK FRIDAY
JAKARTA (JP): Twelve people died and dozens were injured as parts of the Indonesian capital turned into a virtual battlefield on Friday pitting students, supported by the masses, against heavily armed police and soldiers.
The number of fatalities is expected to rise as several of the injured were in an extremely critical condition.
Clashes broke out in various places of the city as antigovernment protesters led by students, tried vainly to march toward the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), where a Special Session was underway to endorse various reform proposals which students said were not far-reaching enough.
Security forces used light tanks, armed personnel carriers, water cannons, and fired tear gas and bullets to confront the marching protesters and disperse them. The demonstrators responded with stones and anything they could get their hands on.
Protesters at the Semanggi cloverleaf, the scene of the worst violence during the Friday the 13th clashes, were seen throwing Molotov cocktails toward the troops.
Shooting began at the cloverleaf, about 1.5 kilometers from the Assembly building, at 3:40 p.m. and did not end until 10:30 p.m.
Reporters described the incident as a bloody massacre as troops -- from the ground and roofs of nearby skyscrapers -- fired at the students and the masses.
"It looks like a film about troops pitted against a crowd of people sentenced to death," said a radio reporter in a live broadcast.
Clashes also occurred on the nearby toll road at the Slipi intersection in West Jakarta and near the Youth Statue at the Senayan circle in South Jakarta.
As of Saturday morning, 12 people had died and more than 150 were injured, most by gunshots.
However, it remained unknown whether or not the troops were armed with live bullets in addition to rubber bullets and blanks.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar M. Sianipar said none of the police personnel were equipped with live bullets.
"We haven't needed live bullets, so far," he said. There was no comment from the military on the issue.
Scores were arrested but police were not available to give an exact figure.
Hospital sources identified the dead victims as Sigit Prasetyo, 18, of YAI accountant college (shot in the chest), Bernardus R. Norman Irmawan, alias Wawan, 20, of Atma Jaya Catholic University (also in the chest) and Teddy Madani of Indonesian Technology Institute in Serpong (gunshot in the neck).
Two others, Muzamil Djoko Purwanto and Abdullah, both from the University of Indonesia, died after suffering severe injuries to their heads.
All of them were shot during the clash with the troops in front of the Atma Jaya hospital.
Four of the remaining dead victims were unidentified but were identified as members of the Volunteer Security Unit which strongly supported the session. They were found severely beaten to death by mobs on Jl. Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, in the afternoon.
One of the victims was found with his face and body badly mutilated, a thin iron bar and a stick protruding from his mouth.
At 1 a.m. Saturday, three more people were confirmed dead. Two were identified as Sulistyanto from YAI and Meiliana; the third was an unidentified man.
Students began to gather after the Moslem Friday midday prayers.
The students were concentrated at Atma Jaya University near the Semanggi cloverleaf, at the Salemba campus of the University of Indonesia (UI) and Trisakti University in West Jakarta.
The number of demonstrators grew as many local residents also took to the streets.
A huge crowd took over all 10 lanes of Jl. Sudirman in front of Atma Jaya University while another sea of protesters packed the street in front of the UI Salemba campus.
Troops dispatched to Atma Jaya hastily diverted the traffic and repeatedly ordered the crowd to disperse. Tanks and armed personnel carriers moved to the front line to drive the demonstrators away.
At 3:40 p.m., shots were heard. Only a few of the protesters scattered: many others challenged the security officers and yelled at them.
The students only scurried for safety after dozens were wounded.
"Allahu Akbar (God is Great)," shouted the students repeatedly as they carried away the injured bodies of their colleagues.
"Hang Wiranto!," shouted others, referring to Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto.
Students recalled that the troops were brutal, saying they fired indiscriminately toward the heavy crowd of the protesters.
"I saw my friends Wawan and Teddy shot in front of our campus here," Norman of Atma Jaya University said.
The crowd swelled after tens of thousands of students and people who had marched from Salemba joined the protesters at Atma Jaya.
Sharpshooters were seen firing from the middle of the GKBI building and from the roof of the neighboring BRI tower, immediately above the sea of protesters.
The vanguard of the demonstrators consisted of students from universities in Jakarta and other cities as well as reform and anti-Special Session groups.
Many people with bleeding hands covering their wounded heads and bodies were seen running toward the Benhill area shortly after the troops opened fire on the crowd.
By late Friday, the Jakarta hospital -- the closest hospital to the Semanggi clash -- had treated 82 wounded people, Cipto Mangunkusumo 51, St. Carolus hospital 30, and Pertamina Hospital 16, including two soldiers.
At the Senayan circle incident, a plainclothes military officer was arrested by students. The soldier was believed to have provoked the clash. The fate of the soldier is unknown.
As the Atma Jaya clash was just beginning in the afternoon, crowds of people were seen gathering at several other spots in the city, such as Palmerah Barat, Pondok Indah, Lebak Bulus, Kampung Melayu and Jembatan Besi.
The crowd at Atma Jaya began to disperse at midnight when students demanded the troops take responsibility for the wounded people.
The clashes the previous day claimed at least two lives, including Pvt. Prayitno from the Jakarta Police's Mobile Brigade and senior high school student Lukman Firdaus.
In Washington, the White House expressed concern about the clashes and called for calm.
"We are obviously concerned about any use of force," spokesman David Leavy was quoted by AFP as saying. "We've been urging both sides to show restraint."
"Indonesia has taken some important steps forward, but they're obviously going through a difficult transition," Leavy said, adding that Washington was working hard to promote Indonesia's transition to democracy.
Expression of concerns and condemnation came from religious leaders and opposition politicians in Jakarta.
Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), lambasted the military's heavy-handed measures against defenseless students who he said were fighting for truth and justice.
"They were shot at. They were forced to us Molotov cocktails because they had nothing to fight back with.
"The Armed Forces members, who are supposed to be valiant, should stop the use of violence for the fulfillment of the personal ambitions of certain individuals," he said in a statement broadcast by SCTV television.
"NU and I myself are prepared to continue the students' unfinished struggle," he added later.
Former environmental minister Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, now Habibie's ardent critics, was in tears when he said: "I'm speechless."
But he added that the government, in this case the Armed Forces chief, and his men, should be held responsible.
"With this incident, the government has lost any legitimacy it had. It had lost its moral right to govern, and can only stay in power by force," Sarwono said as quoted by Antara.
Government critic Sri Bintang Pamungkas said the bloody clash reflected the failure of President Habibie's administration to command people's respect.
"They (Habibie and his ministers) have to step down," he said.
Jakarta Archbishop Kardinal Julius Darmaatmadja said in a statement that he had talked to Abdurrahman about the situation. They said they shared the grief and anxiety which most Jakartans were feeling.
"Tonight, our anxiety became deeper because the situation has gotten worse. We were shocked and saddened. We asked ourselves the meaning of the incidents on the campuses and in the streets where there were conflicts," Kardinal Darmaatmadja said. (team)