Tearful farewell for two student victims

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)