For July 27 victims, Megawati is a past idol

For July 27 victims, Megawati is a past idol

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Friends of Agus Wardoyo, a task force member for the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI), believed he had been killed during the
attack on the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) at Jl. Diponegoro 58, Central Jakarta, on July 27, 1996.

Agus and dozens of other injured activists were left in the
dining room of the party's office while those who had escaped
unharmed or were not seriously injured were taken to city police
headquarters.

They were among the 300 supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri
who were trying to defend the party's headquarters.

The incident left five people dead, 149 injured and 23
missing.

While he was semiconscious, Agus was placed in a freezer
drawer in the morgue of state Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in
Central Jakarta.

"I remembered the nurse had pinched me when I was in the
morgue room. I really felt it when the nurse pinched my belly,
but only for a moment."

When he opened his eyes two days later, he was on the fifth
floor of Gatot Subroto Army Hospital (RSPAD) with an oxygen tube
in his nose.

"If you had asked me about what had happened on Saturday, July
27, 1996, I wouldn't have been able to answer you as I remembered
nothing. I became fully conscious on Monday and a nurse told me
that I was on the fifth floor of the RSPAD," Agus told The
Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Although Agus cannot recall anything that happened during the
incident, his fractured skull with a patch-shaped scar near his
left ear is his proof that he was tortured.

Sandra Feritasari, one of the activists present at the scene,
said that Agus' head was hit by a rock thrown by the attackers.

Agus said he ran away from the hospital as he did not want to
be sent to the police. He returned to his hometown of Magetan,
East Java, but he was then kidnapped by military personnel. He
said that he was subjected to other forms of torture.

"Almost all of my body was kicked and beaten by the
interrogators. At that time, I could only protect my head, which
was still very painful," he said.

Agus added that the most painful torture was when he was
forced to kneel on mung beans that were spread out on the floor.

The attack was the climax of internal conflict within the
party between the supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri and
government-backed Soerjadi. Soerjadi and several other people,
including Governor Sutiyoso, who was then the Jakarta Military
commander, were named suspects. But the legal process has not
been completed so far.

Following the attack, Megawati founded her own party called
PDI Perjuangan (PDI of struggle). She gained the support and
sympathy of millions of people, mostly at the grassroots level,
which later propelled her to the position of President.

But now many of Megawati's supporters, including Agus, are
disappointed over her decision to nominate Governor Sutiyoso as
the party's gubernatorial candidate.

"Every time I remember my friends who were tortured and killed
I become very sad," Agus said, sobbing. He stopped for a while
before continuing his sentence. "Hearing that Sutiyoso had been
nominated was really hurtful for us," said Agus sadly.

For Agus and other victims of the July 27 incident, Megawati
is a former idol as they can no longer expect that she will be
able to give the country a better future.

"Do you know what Ibu Megawati said when we last met her? 'Who
asked you there (at the party's headquarters)?' That kind of
statement should not have been made by a leader, although maybe
she did not need us at that time," he added.

He also criticized Megawati for not paying any attention to
the victims of the July 27 attack, especially the families of
those who were dead or missing.

"I do not want any money or other forms of compensation as I
have a job. But I hope that Megawati will pay attention to the
victims and their families, particularly the children left behind
by the victims," he added.