Justice wanted for Semanggi victims
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Hundreds of students from various universities in Jakarta demanded that the government, and in particular the Attorney General's Office, uphold justice and punish those responsible for the Semanggi I incident on Nov. 13, 1998.
The demand was conveyed during the fifth annual commemoration of the incident, which killed 12 people including university students.
The parents of Bernardus "Wawan" R. Norman Irawan, a student of Atma Jaya Catholic University who was killed by gunfire, urged the government to give their son justice.
"Our children were killed. We have been fighting for justice but the House of Representatives has hampered the fight," Sumarsih, Wawan's mother, said in a speech in front of the Attorney General's Office in South Jakarta.
The students also demanded that the government provide justice to the victims of the Semanggi I, Semanggi II and Trisakti incidents by setting up an ad hoc court human rights court.
The Semanggi case files, along with those on the two other shooting incidents, are in the hands of the Attorney General's Office but the investigation has yet to start due to a finding by legislators that no human rights violations occurred in the three incidents.
So far, the only action taken has been by a military court, which convicted and sentenced a number of junior soldiers.
The senior military officers allegedly responsible for the shootings so far appear untouchable. They refused to answer summonses from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) during its probe of the case.
The Semanggi I incident occurred when military troops tried to disperse thousands of demonstrators who had gathered in front of the Atma Jaya University at the Semanggi cloverleaf in Central Jakarta. A hail of bullets killed several people who were attempting to march to the House of Representatives compound to stop a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly.
Besides Wawan, the bullets also killed Sigit Prasetyo of YAI Accountant College; Teddy Madani of the Indonesian Technology Institute in Serpong, Tangerang; and Muzamil Djoko Purwanto and Abdullah, both from the University of Indonesia.
Before rallying in front of the Attorney General's Office, students on Thursday visited Wawan's grave at the Joglo public cemetery in West Jakarta.
They went back to Atma Jaya University in the afternoon to place flowers at the spot where the killings occurred.
Their action led to heavy congestion along Jl. Jend. Sudirman for about half an hour.
Thursday's rally was a part of a series of commemorative events, including a photo exhibition, a theater performance and a discussion.