Parents of dead students seek justice

Parents of dead students seek justice

JAKARTA (JP): The parents of six students who were shot dead
in the clashes between students and security forces on Nov. 13
demanded on Monday the Armed Forces (ABRI) leaders are held
responsible for the incident.

The parents, who have appointed the Commission for Missing
Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) to represent them, said
that the shootings should be thoroughly investigated.

"We want justice from the government... they should not only
express apologies and condolences to the families," one of the
parents, Asih Widodo, 46, told a media conference at the
Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation's (LBH) Office in Central
Jakarta.

Asih is the father of Sigit Prasetyo, 18, a student of YAI
college, who was shot in the chest at the Semanggi cloverleaf on
Nov. 13. Asih, a construction worker, said that Sigit was his
only child.

Kontras coordinator Munir said that at least 19 people,
including six students, were killed during a series of clashes
between students and security forces on Nov. 13 and Nov. 14.

He said that 11 of them died from bullet wounds. The Jakarta
Post has confirmed that 16 were killed during clashes of Nov. 12
to Nov. 13, six of whom died of bullet wounds including five of
the six students.

Munir also said that at least six students are reported still
missing.

ABRI announced on Nov. 22 that about 163 soldiers were to be
punished for the shootings and violent acts against student
protesters in the run-up to and during the recent Special Session
of the People's Consultative Assembly which ended Nov. 13.

Munir, however, said that those soldiers have been made
scapegoats. "Kontras believes that officials at the decision-
making level within ABRI should also be held responsible for the
shootings," Munir said.

Students nationwide have been calling for the ouster of
Minister of Defense and Security/ABRI Chief Gen. Wiranto
following the shootings near the Atma Jaya University on Jl. Jen.
Sudirman.

Wiranto, who has repeatedly said that none of the security
officers deployed at the Semanggi cloverleaf on Nov. 13 had used
live bullets, told the House of Representatives on Nov. 24
that the 5.56-millimeter live bullet found in a victim's body did
not belong to the armory of any ABRI troop unit.

ABRI spokesman Maj. Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif said earlier that the
bullet had exploded into three pieces inside the victim's body.

Answering questions from the foreign press on the shootings,
Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono said on Nov.
20 that "there are rogue elements within the military who are
interested in further discrediting the current defense minister
Gen. Wiranto".

Juwono, who had just received students at his office at the
time, however, did not elaborate further on who "the rogue
elements within the military" were.

He only said that attempts to discredit Wiranto were part of
"the power struggle up in the top echelons of the government".

"Faced with this... along with criticism from the students
and other dissidents... the defense minister is in a very
difficult position," Juwono had said.

Munir said Monday that the Nov. 13 shootings should not end up
like the fatal shooting of four Trisakti University students in
May which remains a mystery. "There is a strong tradition of the
government to evade accountability in cases which could lead to
the correction of ABRI's dual function," Munir said.

The National Commission on Human Rights set up their own team
to investigate the Nov. 13 shootings last week.

Deputy chairman of the rights body, Marzuki Darusman, said
that the team will complement the government's explanation of the
shootings, pointing out that more information is required to
establish who was responsible for the tragedy. (byg)