Thousands bury reform activist

SURAKARTA, Central Java: Thousands of people, mostly students, thronged to the reburial of reform activist Leonardus "Gilang" Nugroho Iskandar who was found dead in East Java last month.

Mourning for the activist who was also known as a street singer, the crowd marched down the city streets from the secretariat of the Solo Students Reform Committee, causing heavy congestion, Antara reported yesterday.

Gilang's body was reburied on Saturday in a public cemetery in Purwalaya, near the city which over the past three months witnessed student demonstrations for reform which often escalated into clashes with security personnel.

Gilang, 24, went missing two days before his body was found in a forested area in Magetan, East Java, on May 23, 1998. According to his mother Budiarti, Gilang went with an "important person" who offered him a job in the East Java city of Madiun.

A man who identified himself as Rudi Solo informed the Magetan Police Station that he found a body when he was repairing his broken down car in the forested area between Tawangmangu in Central Java and Magetan.

The body was taken to the Magetan hospital and buried three days later when no one claimed it.

Gilang's family, who had earlier reported the activist missing, tracked down his body last Monday. They said results from an autopsy showed the cause of death was stab wounds to the lungs and heart, Kompas said.

His body was exhumed and brought back to Surakarta. Family members and friends believe he was killed for his involvement in the reform movement.

Student leader Ulin Niam called on the police and the local administration to handle the alleged murder professionally. (rms)