Military involved in 'provoking' student protesters
JAKARTA (JP): The independent Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) asserted on Wednesday that the military was involved in provoking student protesters, leading to at least seven deaths on Friday at the Semanggi cloverleaf.
Plainclothes and uniformed military personnel were "directly and indirectly involved", Kontras coordinator Munir said.
Munir told a media conference that witnesses, including a number of unemployed people and Armed Forces personnel, have admitted that they had been assigned to incite unrest during the student protests.
"Based on our investigation and the confession of the witnesses... we found that a number of hoodlums were recruited and paid between Rp 15,000 to Rp 35,000 on Nov. 13, and about 20 of these people were deployed at Atmajaya University," Munir said, adding that those people were equipped with fake school jackets and student identifications.
On Monday, Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono alleged that "radical groups" among the students provoked the violence on Friday at Semanggi.
Munir displayed a fake university jacket and badge of the private Veteran University, worn by an alleged provocateur who was apprehended by students and the public.
"They were recruited from the streets by plainclothes personnel and paid to participate in the student protests, and they were also told to yell... and they were seen in the frontline of the student protests.
"This jacket was worn by a man who threw stones at the security forces... and after being investigated, we found that he was not a student," Munir said.
He added that Kontras had treated a wounded plainclothes military officer who happened to be in the frontline of the student protest during the clash.
"We found his identification that indicates that he is from a military unit," Munir said, adding that he would reveal further details of the alleged military involvement, including the ranks of the alleged provocateurs, in the near future.
Munir also dismissed Minister of Defense and Security/ABRI Chief Gen. Wiranto's earlier statement that the security forces were only using rubber bullets in the incident.
"We found shells of live bullets at Atmajaya University and Moestopo University, and the use of live bullets has been confirmed by the forensic team from Ciptomangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM) which has been conducting autopsies on the victims," Munir said.
The universities were among those where students were concentrated during the protests against the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly from Nov. 10 through Nov. 13.
Munir added that there were also reports of intimidation against a number of victims who were still being treated at RSCM and St. Carolus Hospital in Central Jakarta.
Earlier on Wednesday, dozens of students from the Student Action Front for Reform and Democracy demanded that the National Commission on Human Rights conduct a thorough investigation of the incident.
"We do not want this case to be forgotten, just like the fatal shooting of four Trisakti University students," said student leader Syafik, referring to the unsettled case of May 12.
Rights commission member Asmara Nababan said that the government should be held responsible for the incident.
"The pretext of safeguarding the Special Session is not acceptable to justify the shooting of the students," Asmara said.
Separately, the Alumni Association of the University of Indonesia (ILUNI) denied the government's accusation that it has been organizing and financing student movements.
Association official Indradjid Subardjo said that the organization only provided logistics and medical supplies. ILUNI chairman Hariadi Darmawan was among those questioned by police for treason. (byg)