Troop behaviour condemned

Troop behaviour condemned

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute has condemned
the violent actions of Armed Forces (ABRI) members against the
Trisakti University students during their street rally on
Wednesday in front of the Ministry of Defense and Security in
Central Jakarta.

The institute's director, Apong Herlina, said a statement made
available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday he wanted ABRI
Commander Gen. Wiranto, who is also Minister of Defense and
Security, to bring the riot troops to court for assaulting the
protesting students.

The institute also wanted Wiranto "to ask for forgiveness from
the (injured) students and their relatives and pay compensation
to the victims," he said.

During Wednesday's noisy rally, with demonstrators demanding
that ABRI immediately reveal the instigators of a recent series
of fatal shootings here, riot troops attacked students with
rattan sticks, leaving at least nine of the 300 participating
Trisakti students injured.

Virginia S.S. of the university's information center said on
Thursday three of the injured students were still in serious
conditions at Pertamina Hospital in Kebayoran Baru, South
Jakarta.

"The riot officers violated the universal human right to free
speech by severely and brutally attacking us," she said.

The three students still receiving medical treatment, she
said, were Didi Nurachman, Rizqi Dwi Nanda, and Andra.

"Most of them have severe head injuries," Virginia said.

Apong said his institute also strongly urged ABRI to
immediately end its culture of violence and discriminative
treatment of student protesters.

"We support the Trisakti students, who demand that Wiranto
further probe the (May 1998) shooting of Trisakti students and
bring the real killers to court," Apong said. (bsr)