Trisakti tragedy fades into oblivion

Trisakti tragedy fades into oblivion

Berni K. Moestafa and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It was the beginning of the end for former President Soeharto
when on May 12, 1998 four students of Trisakti University were
shot dead during a peaceful rally demanding political reform.

Eight days after the tragedy Soeharto resigned. The nation saw
itself standing at the threshold of democracy. Hopes ran high.

That was four years ago. Now analysts and families of victims
fear government ignorance will drag the Trisakti tragedy into
oblivion, and with it the country's reform movement.

Ask Bagus Yoga Nandita. The father of Trisakti victim Elang
Mulya Lesmana is still waiting for his son's case to be resolved.

"We believe that what happened four years ago to our son was
the will of God ... but those responsible for this should be
punished," Bagus told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The cases of the other three victims share the same fate.

Elang, Heri Hartanto, Hafhidin Royan, and Hendrawan Sie were
shot dead in their campus grounds, as they retreated from a
protest that turned violent.

It was the first death among students after weeks of peaceful
protests against the Soeharto regime.

Their deaths snowballed the students' calls for reform into
public outrage which ensued in rioting across the country and
prompted thousands of students to besiege the sprawling complex
of the House of Representatives. Calls for Soeharto to resign
grew louder.

It was amid this that Soeharto succumbed, ending his 32-year
authoritarian regime known as the New Order.

"I am not trying to glorify my son, but what happened four
years ago was the beginning of the changes in the country," Bagus
said.

The Trisakti tragedy triggered a chain of events that led to
Soeharto's downfall, but analysts say the public's recognition of
this significance has waned.

The House downplayed the tragedy refusing to call it a gross
violation of human rights.

Efforts to hunt down those responsible for the shooting have
yielded no results thus far.

The country's human rights commission failed to present a
conclusion to its investigation.

Generals who were summoned to the commission's hearing refused
to come, ignoring the urging of the families' victims.

Eventually, the commission submitted the case to the Attorney
General's Office, which has yet to show any progress.

"I am disappointed as the government and the House had clearly
shown no will whatsoever to resolve the case," Bagus said.

Trisakti students have just initiated efforts to bring the
case before the international tribunal in The Hague.

"For the sake of my son and to ensure that those bloody
actions committed by the government will not happen again, I will
not rest until justice is achieved and the perpetrators are
brought to trial," Bagus added.

Political observer Hermawan Soelistyo said the uncertain legal
efforts reflected the government's denial of the students'
sacrifice.

"Many politicians forget that they achieved their positions
with the blood that these children had shed," Hermawan said.
"They stole the student reform movement."

Munir, founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras), said that judging from the way the
government handled the Trisakti tragedy, history would record it
as a mere example of state violence.

"The government and the public fail to see the turning point
in Trisakti," he said, explaining that Soeharto's downfall led to
the current reform era.

Political changes swept the country, which saw the first ever
democratic general election in 1999, wide-ranging regional
autonomy, and a return to press freedom.

But these achievements ring hollow amid increased corruption
practices, the loss of the supremacy of the law, and widespread
security problems.

Munir said the failure to grasp the significance of the
Trisakti tragedy had caused the country to stray from its
original path of reform.

He blamed this collective ignorance on the government.

The government degraded the tragedy from a milestone in the
history of this country, into a mere example of state violence,
Munir said.

But even then, the death of the four Trisakti students was no
deterrent as four more people were killed during the first
Semanggi tragedy in November 1998, and another one in the second
Semanggi tragedy a year later. The perpetrators of these
incidents remain at large.

Arief Triyadi, whose son Bernadinus Realino Norma Irmawan,
alias Wawan, was shot dead in the first Semanggi tragedy, said
the victims' families were waiting in vain for justice.

"We, the families of the victims, have to realize that one day
we may find ourselves alone in our search for justice," he said.

THE DAYS LEADING TO SOEHARTO'S FALL

May 11 Students across the country intensify their rallies
demanding reform and Soeharto's resignation.

May 12 Four Trisakti University students are shot dead on the
university's campus during a peaceful rally.

May 13 Widespread looting and arson attacks hit the capital,
violence directed against Indonesian-Chinese.

May 14 Riots continue and spread to areas surrounding the
capital.

May 15 Soeharto arrives from G-15 summit in Cairo amid rioting
and mounting calls for his resignation. He refuses to step down.

May 16 People's Consultative Assembly and House of
Representative speaker Harmoko announces plan to reshuffle
cabinet after meeting Soeharto.

May 17 Calls for Soeharto's resignation continue, mounting
public support for the calls.

May 18 Students start occupation of House compound and Harmoko
now requests Soeharto to step down.

May 19 Around 30,000 students remain at the House compound,
Soeharto sticks to his plan for a cabinet reshuffle.

May 20 Eleven ministers resign, and the students with the
support of the public refuse to leave the House compound.

May 21 Soeharto announces: "I quit"