Tearful farewell for two student victims

JAKARTA (JP): The funerals of two of the students shot dead in clashes with police and soldiers were marked by the deep grief shared between members of their families and thousands of fellow students who turned up to pay their last respects on Saturday.

The two were among 12 people shot dead during a student demonstration against the four-day Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Friday.

Around 3,000 students wearing the colors of various universities, including the bright tangerine of the Engineering Institute of Indonesia (ITI), bid a tearful goodbye to Teddy Mardani from the ITI class '95, who died after being shot in the chest during the clash.

Teddy, the youngest of four children to Capt. Edi Samsudin and Maria Samsudin, was laid to rest in Karet Cemetery in Central Jakarta. His rector, teachers and friends heaped flower petals and wreaths upon his grave.

"He was such a nice kid, he never caused any trouble," said Teddy's uncle, Usman Suardi. "He was always active, including in student activities. He was a nice boy."

All through the funeral, Teddy's three sisters, Rifa, Iin and Yuli, held on their mother, who was pale and unable to stand up by herself. As soon as the family left the cemetery, the students shouted Allahu Akbar (God is Great).

Separately, at Joglo Cemetery in West Jakarta, hundreds of students from various universities attended the funeral of Bernardus Realino Noermairawan, who was also killed in Friday's clash.

Bernardus -- who was known fondly among friends as Wawan Gembel (Scavenger) -- was shot in the chest while helping a friend who had been badly beaten by soldiers during the violence centered around the Semanggi cloverleaf. He was a student of Atma Jaya Catholic University.

Frans Seda, a high-ranking member of Atma Jaya University's board of governors, said that this was the second tragedy after the shooting dead of four Trisakti University students in May, an incident which led to the downfall of former president Soeharto.

"I hope this is the last incident. Don't let this be followed by a third tragedy," he said.

Sandyawan, the priest who led the funeral procession, said that he was very sad to see the students' struggle marked with bloodshed.

"But the only thing I believe is that Wawan is more honorable than the MPR members," he said, referring to the MPR members who continued to discuss the session's narrow agenda without absorbing any of the aspirations aired by students.

Pahala, one of Wawan's contemporaries in the university's class of '96, said that Wawan was a taciturn student. Besides being a campus red cross activist, Wawan was also an active member of a humanitarian team, Pahala said.

Arief Riyadi, Wawan's father, said that he did not blame anyone for his son's death and said he wanted his son's struggle to contribute to something important.

Similar sorrow could be seen in the faces of relatives and friends visiting the injured in hospital on Saturday.

On Friday, hundreds of injured victims were admitted to the city's hospitals, but many were discharged again after first receiving treatment.

As of Saturday night, 24 people were still being treated in Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM). Eight more were in Pelni Hospital and 16 were in St. Carolus Hospital.

One of the 24 patients being treated at RSCM was Suhatman Pendi, a resident of Kebon Pala in Central Jakarta, who was hurt when set upon by police officers hunting down people involved in a nearby clash.

Nurbaiti, Suhatman's mother, said that her son suffered severe head injuries on Friday after being struck by a pistol when officers broke into his uncle's house, where he was resting.

"My son did not do anything to harm anybody. He was still sleeping with six of his friends when the officers barged in," she said. "Why did the police hurt my son?" she asked, adding that the officers must have been mad. Three more of the seven innocent teenage children in the house were also hurt in the incident.

Patients treated at the hospital also included Ayu Ratnasari, a five-year-old girl who was shot in the head while sitting on her uncles shoulders to get a better view of a commotion between students and civilian guards on Jl. Jatinegara in East Jakarta on Saturday.

Ratna, who was in critical condition, underwent a surgery at 10 p.m. last night. Ratna's uncle, Rizal, was waiting for the results of the operation along with the girl's parents.

"I just heard a single shot at the time," Rizal, who was still wearing clothes stained with her blood, said, adding that initially he could not believe the bullet had hit his niece in the head.

Both Rizal and Ratna's parents, who come from a low-income family, looked worried and helpless.

The eight victims being treated at Pelni Hospital include Fachrul, a student from Bung Hatta University in Padang, West Sumatra. His legs were badly injured when he was hit by an Armed Forces truck in Palmerah market, Central Jakarta, on Friday evening.

"I was running in panic to avoid angry troops who had started throwing tear gas canisters into the crowd when I was hit by a speeding truck," he said in tears.

Fachrul said he was transferred to Pelni Hospital at 7 p.m. on Saturday after being treated in UKI Hospital in Cawang, East Jakarta.

Doctors at Carolus Hospital managed to remove a bullet from the head of Engkus Kusnaidi, a Jakarta Islamic University student, during an operation performed on Saturday morning.

Reza and Genus, two of Engkus' friends, said that Engkus had joined the demonstration inadvertently while looking for his friends to accompany him home.

Reza, who was shot on the grounds of Atma Jaya University, was in a critical condition after the operation. He also received severe facial injuries when officers beat him while he lay unconscious after being shot, Chiki, his mother, said.

Other new victims admitted to St. Carolus Hospital on Saturday included Marco Gay, an Italian citizen who was robbed of his belongings, including his passport, by a group of youths armed with sharp bamboo poles just before entering the Cawang- Rawamangun elevated toll road on his way to Soekarno-Hatta airport.

Marco, who sustained injuries to his face, was discharged from the hospital after receiving medical treatment.

Minister of Education of Culture Juwono Sudarsono, who is known to be close to the students, visited RSCM on Saturday morning to comfort the victims.

He solemnly promised that he would ask Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces Commander Wiranto about the incident.

Meanwhile, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) opened a hotline for the public to report missing relatives and those who were killed and injured in the violence.

Kontras can be contacted on the following phone numbers: 021- 3145518, 0811990568 and 0818297929 and fax: 021-330140. (team)