Four students killed in rally declared champions of reform

JAKARTA (JP): Trisakti University declared the four students killed in Tuesday's antigovernment rally were Champions of Reform yesterday.

The university radio station, MS Three, received thousands of messages of condolence from people in all walk of life, including state employees. The station was inundated with flowers, facsimile messages and telephone calls.

The Jakarta Post also received a number of messages from institutions and individuals deploring the death of the students.

A note from Surabaya described the victims as flowers of reform.

Here are brief profiles of the four students who were killed by gunshots allegedly fired by security forces on Tuesday evening.

Elang Mulya, an architecture student, was born on July 15, 1978 in Jakarta. He was the second of three children to freelance photographer Boy Bagus Yoga Nandita and Hira Teti.

His father said Elang had been shot once in the chest.

"I had no idea that he was taking part in such an activity," he said.

His grandfather, Hidayat Wirasenjaya, is a retired brigadier general of the military police corps, a war veteran and a member of the Indonesian Veterans Legion.

"My grandson was shot by somebody armed with a gun. My grandson bore no arms. That is all," he said.

According to sister Sari, 35, Elang never caused problems for the family.

"We had a happy and close relationship," she recalled. "We missed each other although I've already married and live at a different house. We often called each other just to talk and chat," she added.

A few hours before Elang was shot, he called to say that he might not come home that night because there was still a noisy protest at his campus, Sari said.

Sari admitted her brother had been "quite busy" with the antigovernment rallies staged with fellow students, particularly over the past few days.

His mother, Teti, insisted that her son was not an activist. "He was just a small part of a huge movement for reform that has built up."

The tearful woman hoped the security forces could feel the agony they had caused and that they would conduct a serious investigation into who carried out the shootings.

Elang's girlfriend, Ariana Amanda, a high school student, recalled that he had said earlier on Tuesday that he disliked taking part in the noisy rallies.

"I believe that he was just there spectating," she said.

Hafidhin Royan was born in Bandung on Oct. 28, 1976.

He was killed by a gunshot to the head.

Hafidhin was a civil engineering student at the university. He was the only son among five children to Mochammad Enus Yusuf, a state employee at the Ministry of Public Works in Jakarta.

Enus pleaded that Tuesday's bloody incident not be repeated.

Hendriawan Lesmana, an economics student at the university, was born in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, on March 3, 1978.

His parents, Hendrik Sie, 43 and Karsiah, 40, live in Kalimantan, so Hendriawan -- the only child in the family -- used to stay here with his uncle at Jl. H. Niming 74, Kebon Jeruk in West Jakarta.

His uncle, Heri Sie, 40, said that Hendriawan had been a quiet boy and very diligent.

"He rarely went out for unnecessary purposes. His death really hurts us," Sie said.

Born in Jakarta on 5 May 1977, Herry Hartanto, a machine engineering student, was the only son and the eldest of three children to war veteran Sahir Mulyo Utomo and Lasmiati.

His sister Sri, 20, is a medical student at the same university.

Fellow students said the sports loving youth was gregarious and enjoyed the company of his many friends.

"He often used our house as a base for his activities, such as compiling papers," his mother Lasmiati recalled.

Frans, a friend at the university, shared Lasmiati's opinion, saying that Herry was always keen to participate in university activities.

"To my knowledge, he was widely known as a brave student with a very strong sense of solidarity and responsibility," Frans said.

"I could do nothing to stop it. He was my only hope," she said, her voice choked with tears.

The victim's father, Sahir, said there was nothing unusual when he last met Herry on Monday.

"But I accept my son's death and surrender all to God," Sahir said calmly. (emy/edt/jun/byg)