Police attack students honoring Trisakti dead

Police attack students honoring Trisakti dead

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

A violent clash erupted here on Monday afternoon after police
officers attacked 60 student protesters from Udayana University
who were staging a peaceful protest to commemorate the Trisakti
shooting incident in 1998.

The clash took place at 1:15 p.m. local time at the square in
front of the provincial legislative building.

The students were just about to lower the Indonesian flag from
the square's flag pole and put it at half-staff -- to honor the
fallen Trisakti students -- when dozens of police officers
appeared and began beating the students with batons and rattan
sticks.

"If they want to be reform heroes too, let's give them a
chance," one police officer yelled angrily.

Overpowered and outnumbered, the students scattered. At least
three students fell to the ground after being repeatedly struck
and kicked by the officers.

One student, field coordinator Visa Ramadhani, fell to the
ground after an officer struck him in the stomach with a stick.
Visa slumped into a fetal position and lay motionless for quite
some time. Yet he refused to be moved, saying he had to remain
with his fellow protesters.

Despite their field coordinator being incapacitated, other
student leaders managed to gather the protesters back. And when
the protesters attempted to take revenge against the officers,
the student leaders calmed them down, reminding them of the
purpose of their protest.

"Let's not forget that we are here for a peaceful and
nonviolent gathering. And let's not forget those students, the
Trisakti students, our fallen comrades, who gave their lives for
the noble cause of freedom, democracy and a nonviolent struggle,"
one student leader said.

After presenting their demands that the government seriously
investigate the Trisakti incident and take the necessary legal
steps to bring those responsible for the shootings to court, the
protesters peacefully left the square.

The police's reaction was ironic since some 30 minutes
earlier, when the same group of students peacefully demonstrated
in front of the Bali Police Headquarters, a high-ranking police
officer praised the students for their peaceful conduct.

"It is their right to express their opinion through a
demonstration, and I am glad that they can do that in a peaceful
way," Sr. Comr. Chamgani said.

Previously, the students also protested in front of the
Udayana Military Command.