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)