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.