Trisakti students injured in clash with riot troops

Trisakti students injured in clash with riot troops

JAKARTA (JP): Nine students from Trisakti University and a
university security guard were badly wounded by riot troops in a
clash in a street rally held on Wednesday in front of the
Ministry of Defense and Security in Central Jakarta.

Two of the wounded students were women. The university
security officer, Riswadi, was assigned to help supervise the
students' protest.

Riswadi and one of the injured students, identified as Bambang
Lukmanul Hakim, were hastily returned to the university campus in
Grogol, West Jakarta.

The other eight students were taken to three hospitals by the
university students' medical team.

Students Didi, Nadia Mulyawati, and Nara Pindo Hapsari were
admitted to Pertamina Hospital in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta,
while four others, Andre, Fikri, Daniel, and Rizki, were treated
at Budi Kemulyaan Hospital in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. The
other injured student, Ihsan Sibarani, was sent to Cipto
Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta.

A student spokesman said Andre and Fikri were still in comas.

Didi suffered serious injuries to his mouth, right shoulder
and head.

Nadia told The Jakarta Post at Pertamina Hospital she was
beaten with rattan sticks by four riot officers when she was
trying to run away.

"The soldiers hit Didi as he was trying to protect me by using
his body. He even told the police to stop beating a woman," she
said.

Nadia, the chairwoman of the university's Dentistry Students
Senate, suffered a wound to the back of her head. Her white
Muslim scarf was partly soaked in blood.

Her colleague, Nara, had a fractured right shoulder and a
bruised left leg.

"A riot officer beat me as I tried to get in a Metromini bus,"
she said.

The noisy street rally, demanding that the Armed Forces (ABRI)
immediately reveal the instigators of a recent series of fatal
shootings here, was attended by about 300 Trisakti students, most
of them wearing their blue university jackets.

Filling several minibuses, the students arrived at Monas park,
in the vicinity of the ministry, at about 11.30 a.m.

They immediately urged the troops, who were already on alert,
to let them approach the Ministry of Defense and Security
building.

The troops blocked their way in front of the Indosat building,
asking the students to walk through the Monas area instead of
marching along Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat to avoid creating a
traffic jam.

The students were then led by military personnel to the area
of Monas park in front of the ministry, where they were
confronted with a police blockade.

The situation became tense when riot officers warned students
not to break the police line.

The clash between student protesters and security officers
erupted a few minutes later when a man, with no university
uniform, threw a rattan stick at a group of troops.

Three soldiers rushed at this man and hit him several times on
his head and back. The unidentified man was then apparently taken
to a nearby police station.

As this happened, the other security personnel charged the
demonstrators, apparently hitting anyone within reach of their
sticks. The Trisakti students sprinted to the end of Jl. Medan
Merdeka Selatan, where their buses were parked.

The troops followed the students and continued to beat them.

The windows on one of the buses were broken by two enraged
riot officers.

A sedan parked nearby also had its front and back windows
broken.

The situation stabilized again after Central Jakarta Police
chief Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna and Jakarta Military Police
commander Col. Hendardji arrived.

After an hour of negotiations, Iman allowed the students to
hold their protest in front of the ministry, as they had
fulfilled the requirement to notify police of the rally.

The students returned to the site to continue their
demonstration, asking ABRI to uncover the powers behind the May
12, 1998 and Nov. 13, 1998 fatal shootings of a number of
students.

The students also demanded that ABRI Commander Gen. Wiranto
take responsibility for the military killings in Aceh, Tanjung
Priok, East Timor and other places.

Some student representatives, led by Gunawan, tried to meet
Wiranto, but a defense ministry official said Wiranto was not in
the building. (01)