Families of Trisakti and Semanggi victims want justice

Kurniawan Hari The Jakarta Post Jakarta

The continued defiance by military and police officers of a summons issued by the Human Rights Commission of Enquiry (KPP HAM) investigating the Trisakti, Semanggi I and Semanggi II incidents has failed to dishearten the parents of the students killed in the three shooting incidents.

The parents, who have established the Alliance for the Victims of State Violence (AKKRA), told The Jakarta Post on Friday that they continued to cling to their hopes that one day justice would be done.

They also expressed the hope that their children's sacrifice would not be in vain, and that comprehensive reforms would be eventually implemented.

Sumarsih, the mother of Bernardus R. Norman Irmawan, a student from Atma Jaya Catholic University who was slain in November 1998 in what became known as the Semanggi I incident, said that she would keep on fighting until justice prevailed.

"I will keep on seeking the truth behind the death of my son," Sumarsih told the Post here on Friday.

Irmawan was one of the 12 victims of the Nov. 13 shooting, which also came to be known as "Black Friday". The incident broke out as student-led antigovernment protesters tried in vain to march toward the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), where a Special Session was underway to endorse various reform proposals that the students considered to be ineffectual.

Sumarsih knew very well that justice might be hard to come by, especially now that the military and police personnel believed to be responsible for the fatal shootings had refused to abide by the summons issued by KPP HAM following the conclusion of a House of Representatives investigating committee that there had been no gross human rights violations during the three incidents.

To further their cause, Sumarsih, her husband Arief Priyadi and the parents of other student victims set up the Alliance for the Victims of State Violence (AKKRA), a forum designed to seek justice for their children.

"After the fatal shooting of our beloved son, we made the attempt to seek justice our top priority," Sumarsih said.

Karsiah Hendrik Sie, the mother of Hendriawan Sie, a student shot dead inside the Trisakti University campus in May 1998, expressed a similar hope.

"I have lost my son forever. I can only hope this case will be resolved thoroughly," she told the Post by phone, suggesting that the Post should consult her family lawyer for further comment.

Ho Kim Ngo, the mother of University of Indonesia student Yap Yun Hap, agreed with Sumarsih and Karsiah Hendrik Sie, but declined to comment in detail due to her poor health.

Yap Yun Hab was shot dead outside the Atma Jaya Catholic University on Sept. 24, 1999, in what has become known as the Semanggi II incident.

Sumarsih said the government, through the social ministry, once gave her family Rp 5 million in compensation, but she returned the money immediately.

"Upon receiving the money, I got a terrible headache, so I decided to return the money immediately," said Sumarsih, admitting that she just recovered from serious depression caused by her son's tragic death.

According to Sumarsih, KPP HAM had been set up as a result of years of collective struggle by AKKRA. She attended the questioning of police and military officers by the special House committee of inquiry.

Sumarsih also said that her group had visited the United Nations office in Jakarta to seek support for a fair trial process.

"Of course, pessimism sometimes arises. They say the students died for nothing. But for me, my son and his friends are heroes," she said.

Several hearings had been organized and many protests had been staged to seek for fair trial. Justice seemed to be only a matter of time when the government set up the commission of inquiry into the incidents.

But, it has been more than three years since the incidents took place and the authorities have still failed to bring the perpetrators to court. The country has changed presidents three times, but the legal process into the incidents continues to drag along at snail's pace.

Victims:

Trisakti Incident Elang Mulia Lesmana Heri Hartanto Hendriawan Sie Hafidhin Royan

Semanggi I (Nov.13, 1998): 16 dead, including: Sigit Prasetyo of YAI Accountant College Bernardus R. Norman Irmawan of Atma Jaya Catholic University Teddy Madani of Indonesian Technology Institute in Serpong Muzamil Djoko Purwanto and Abdullah, the University of Indonesia Sulistyanto from YAI and Meiliana

Semanggi II (Sept.24, 1999): 10 dead, including: Yap Yun Hap of the University of Indonesia