Students rally for Reform Heroes

Students rally for Reform Heroes

JAKARTA (JP): Hundreds of students took to the streets on
Saturday to commemorate the May 12, 1998 slaying of four Trisakti
University students, an event which to this day continues to be
shrouded in mystery.

The rally, predominantly comprised of Trisakti University
students, was as much to remember the fallen students as it was
to raise awareness that three years on there has been little
progress in solving the shootings, which were a precursor to the
fall of then President Soeharto.

The ceremony began inside the campus in Grogol, West Jakarta,
where the students were shot.

Rector Thobi Muthis presided over a solemn ceremony to
remember Hery Hartanto, Hafidhin Alifidin Royan, Elang Mulia
Lesmana and Hendrawan Sie.

The students sang the mournful Gugur Bunga (The Fallen
Flowers). The national red-and-white flag was then lowered to
half-mast.

The parents of the four students were also present and
addressed the gathering.

Thobby reminded those in attendance that the tragedy triggered
nationwide protests which then led to the fall of Soeharto on May
21.

But justice has not been served as the persons who ordered the
shootings have not been punished, Thobby said.

"We will continue our struggle until all those responsible for
the shootings are pursued to the full extent of the law," Thobby
vowed in his speech.

Students, lecturers and parents of the slain students then
laid wreaths at four places inside the campus where the students
where shot.

They also spread flowers at a four-pillared silver memorial
monument which was erected last year in remembrance of the four
students who were declared Heroes of Reform by Soeharto's
successor, President B.J. Habibie.

Hafidhin's father, Enos Yunus, spoke for many when he said:
"All of the parents (of the four students) just want to know who
the shooters were and who ordered the shootings."

Sentence

The shootings occurred when Trisakti University students were
conducting a rally in front of their campus.

As the security forces moved in to control the rally, shots
suddenly rang out.

Two lieutenants have been held responsible for ordering the
shootings.

In August 1998, First Lt. Agus Tri Heryanto, 29, and Second
Lt. Pariyo, 38, both members of the police's Mobile Brigade, were
sentenced to 10 months and 4 months in jail respectively by a
military tribunal in Jakarta.

Senior military and police officers who were in command at the
time, such as former Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. (ret.)
Wiranto and former Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad)
chief Lt. Gen. (ret.) Prabowo, have repeatedly declared their
innocence in the case.

At a hearing with the House of Representatives' special
committee investigating the Trisakti and Semanggi tragedies,
Wiranto slammed the committee for linking their names with the
two incidents.

Thobby on Saturday insisted that "justice must be upheld" and
that he was determined to resolve the mystery.

During the ceremony, the three-story Asy-Syuhada mosque inside
the campus was also inaugurated. The Rp 3.5 billion mosque was
dedicated to the four students.

Meanwhile, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Moch. Sofyan Yacob
said during the commemoration that the situation was peaceful
throughout the capital.

He noted that apart from the campus, a number of commemoration
ceremonies were also being held at the Hotel Indonesia traffic
circle, the Semanggi cloverleaf, and at the Proclaimers' Monument
on Jl. Proklamasi, Central Jakarta.

"The students had earlier informed us about their plans to
organize these events," said Sofyan. (01/bby/prb)