Semanggi victims' families protest

Semanggi victims' families protest

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of family members of the victims of the
1998 Semanggi shootings demonstrated on Thursday in front of the
Ministry of Defense and Security on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in
Central Jakarta, demanding that Indonesian Military (TNI)
Commander Gen. Wiranto take responsibility.

The protesters included mothers of students killed in the
fatal shooting incident.

Mrs. Sumarsih, mother of Atmajaya student Wawan, and Mrs.
Partini, mother of YAI student Sigit, both students who were shot
dead in the incident, said Wiranto has failed to satisfactorily
investigate the incident.

"Don't you have any conscience, Sir? What if this happened to
your children?" the protesters shouted under the watchful eye of
dozens of officers.

The protesters demanded that the TNI commander apologize
officially to the victims and members of their families, saying
it would be help build a nonviolent Indonesia.

They also demanded that the government compensate the victims
for all medical expenses.

The other demands included making public the investigation of
the violence, the types of weapons used and the military units of
the officers found guilty in the incident.

The protesters further asked that the military to disclose the
names of those who gave orders to shoot and that the responsible
superior officers also be made known.

A similar protest was also held at the Hotel Indonesia
roundabout.

In the protest, hundreds of students from dozens of
universities in the capital distributed leaflets asking for
peace.

Anthoni, a student of ABA-ABI Cikini, said the protest was
aimed at urging all parties to realize the importance of peace to
enable people to conduct their life rhythms peacefully. (hhr)