Students mourn death of their colleague

JAKARTA (JP): Sadness was the prevailing mood on Saturday as students gathered for peaceful ceremonies to mourn those who were killed during violent protests over the previous two days.

Students held a mass ceremony in the morning to pay their last respects to Yap Yun Hap, a student at University of Indonesia's Department of Electrical Engineering who was killed on Friday in the protests against the state security bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday.

The ceremony was held in the university's auditorium on Jl. Salemba Raya in Central Jakarta, after which Yun Hap's body was taken to his family's house in West Jakarta. He will be buried on Sunday at 8 a.m. in Pondok Rangon cemetery in the Cibubur subdistrict of East Jakarta.

National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Matori Abdul Djalil, UI rector Asman Budi Santoso, political observer Soedjati Djiwandono and economist Sjahrir were among those in attendance at the ceremony.

A bouquet from Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri was among dozens of bouquets sent by universities and organizations.

In the afternoon, student activists from the Family of Trisakti University Students, Forum Kota (Forkot), Jakarta's State Institute of Islamic Studies, the Collective Forum and the Student Family of Guna Dharma University staged a protest in front of Atma Jaya University on Jl. Sudirman.

They spread flowers on the street and distributed pamphlets calling for the rejection of the state security bill to onlookers and motorists. The students then attempted to march to the House, which is located some 600 meters from the university, at around 4:00 p.m.

However, they were blocked by hundreds of personnel from the Joint Military-Police Crack Riot Troops at the Senayan flyover. Unable to approach the House, they peacefully returned to Atma Jaya University at 5:40 p.m.

However, not all was peaceful on Saturday, evidenced by an attack on the home of businessman Arifin Panigoro on Jl. Jenggala I in South Jakarta at 5:27 a.m.

Four men on two motorcycles threw two Molotov cocktails at the house. One of the bombs landed on the roof and started a fire which burned for about five minutes, while the second bomb fell to the ground and failed to explode, Arifin's spokesman Muntazar said.

Arifin was in Depok at the time of the attack and no one was hurt in the incident.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said while quoting Arifin on Saturday that the businessman felt the attack was connected to the recent student demonstrations.

Meanwhile, city police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman said on Saturday the bullet which killed Yun Hap was fired from a car which had been following police officers.

"The shot came from an unidentified car following my officers ... what kind of car and who was in it are still being investigated," Noegroho said at city police headquarters during a joint media conference.

Noegroho said an investigative team led by city police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Sutanto was established on Saturday morning to investigate the shooting.

"Again, I stress it was not a live bullet that killed Yun Hap, but a rubber bullet," he said.

Noegroho's statement, however, was contradicted by doctors at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital who examined Yun Hap's body.

"It's a live bullet from a .22 caliber firearm which was fired from a distance," they said as quoted by Antara.

The doctors also hinted the bullet was of the same type that killed four Trisakti University students during the mid-May riots last year.

According to the city police, eight people died during the two days of demonstrations, including Yun Hap. Another 112 people, including 30 police officers, were injured.

Noegroho said city police identified 14 provocateurs during the protests, including artist Ratna Sarumpaet and Democratic People's Party (PRD) official Feisol Reza.

"For example, we know someone handed over up to Rp 200 million to Forkot members on Aug. 27 to gather a crowd of up to 5,000 for the demonstrations," he said.

Earlier, Zainuri named four provocateurs -- former minister of mines and energy Soebroto, Cahyono, Andi Shiarani and Trias.

Governor Sutiyoso said total losses were estimated at Rp 2 billion (US$222,222).

Separately, Minister of Education and Culture Juwono Sudarsono hinted on Saturday that unnamed persons attempted to recruit university students for the protests on Thursday and Friday.

"Some UI students from the university's Depok campus told me that some people provided trucks and influenced UI students to join the protest on Friday." he told reporters after seeing President B.J. Habibie as State Merdeka Palace.

The minister said these unnamed persons recruited students from Atma Jaya University, Indonesian Christian University, Prof. Moestopo University, Trisakti University and UI to stage the protests.

Protests over the House's approval of the state security bill were also seen in North Sumatra, and several cities in Java.

In Medan, North Sumatra, students took to the streets, burning tires and hurling rocks at security forces in fresh antimilitary protests, Reuters reported on Saturday.

In Semarang, Central Java, hundreds of student protesters from 25 non-government organizations staged a demonstration on Saturday demanding the government revoke the bill.

Similar demonstrations were held by 200 university students in the Central Java towns of Surakarta and Purwokerto.

Meanwhile, hundreds of university students staged a rally along the streets of the East Java capital of Surabaya on their cars and motorcycles, asking people to express their condolences for the victims of the protests. (04/45/har/nur/asa/ylt)