BLACK FRIDAY
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)