Rallies held to mark anniversary of attack on PDI HQs
JAKARTA (JP): One overriding theme, namely the bringing of former president Soeharto to justice, marked the fourth anniversary of the July 27 violent takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters nationwide on Thursday.
In Jakarta, some 600 people joined a rally from the abandoned Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro to Jl. Teuku Umar and then on to the Jakarta office of Golkar Party near the Cikini railway station, all in Central Jakarta.
"Arrest and bring the masterminds of the July 27 tragedy to court ... rehabilitate the victims," an activist of the Communication Forum for Relatives of the July 27, 1996 Victims yelled.
Initially, the rally participants laid a wreath in front of the PDI headquarters before they headed to Jl. Cendana, where former president Soeharto resides. They, however, were blocked by a cordon of police personnel and were directed to nearby Jl. Teuku Umar.
Speeches and banners marked the rally on Thursday. The rally also saw a street play on former president Soeharto's 32-year reign, poetry reading and dance performances.
The July 1996 attack on PDI headquarters triggered mass unrest throughout the Central Jakarta area on the same day, leaving at least five people dead and 149 injured. Twenty-three others are reportedly still missing.
The police's investigation has named 11 civilians as suspects in the 1996 attack, including former PDI chairman Soerjadi and former secretary-general Buttu R. Hutapea.
Meanwhile, the military investigation into several Indonesian Military (TNI) generals' alleged involvement in the attack is ongoing.
In Yogyakarta, around 100 activists of the Committee for the People's Struggle for Democracy (Koperdam), staged similar protests along popular street Jl. Malioboro.
They were attacked by unidentified people while staging their protest, leaving at least 11 of the protesters injured.
The protesters were on their way to Yogyakarta City Hall, when suddenly a group of armed men riding on a jeep and four motorbikes attacked them from behind.
"We were terrified as the group suddenly set upon us with wooden sticks and iron bars," said a protester who asked not to be named, while adding that some of the attackers were seen talking to police officers shortly before the assault.
"I wonder why the police did nothing to prevent the armed group from attacking us," he said.
The group identified the attackers' vehicle as a white Jeep Willis with registration number AB 7819 HA.
The motives behind the attack were still unclear, and the protesters eventually dispersed soon after the attack.
The group said in their statement that they demanded the government prioritize the handling of human rights' abuse cases and the liquidation of the Golkar Party.
Before the attack, the protesters also burned Golkar flags.
In Semarang, about 500 PDI Perjuangan supporters, grouped in the Anti-New Order People's Alliance (Arab), marched along main streets in the city, including Jl. Tentara Pelajar, Jl. Mataram, Jl. Ahmad Yani and the Simpang Lima traffic circle before they ended up in the grounds fronting the Central Java Provincial Legislature and the Central Java Police Headquarters building on Jl. Pahlawan.
In front of the police headquarters, about 50 PDI Perjuangan cadres presented an oration demanding that the authorities uncover the perpetrators of the 1996 hostile take over.
"We also demand that the government rehabilitate the status and reputations of the victims in the July 27 incident," Gin Dahono, the group coordinator, said.
In Makassar, South Sulawesi, 100 students from various universities here marked the day by staging protests in front of the Council Building, demanding that former president Soeharto be held responsible for his past wrongdoings and blatant human right violations.
"Soeharto was the pivot around which all kinds of abuses revolved during the New Order era. It is lamentable that President Abdurrahman's administration has failed to bring the real culprits in the July 27 incident to trial," Heince Ivan, the group leader, said. (07/27/44/har/edt)