UMI campus closed after deadly clash

UMI campus closed after deadly clash

Andi Hajramurni and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post,
Makassar/Bandung

The administrators of the Indonesian Muslim University (UMI)
declared a two-day vacation on Tuesday after a student was killed
by fellow students on the campus in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Ikhlas "Dindong" Ismail, a 25-year-old student at the School
of Agriculture, was beaten and stabbed to death in the clash on
Monday night.

Thousands of students gathered in groups outside the campus as
the two entrance gate were locked after UMI rector Nasir Hamzah
closed the campus for two days until Thursday.

The closure was to prevent any further violence at the private
university.

The incident occurred at about 7 p.m. on Monday, when a group
of students chased Ikhsan from the campus to in front of the
South Sulawesi governor's office, located around 500 meters from
the campus.

Ikhsan was beaten and stabbed by the assailants, believed to
be from UMI's Technical School. He died from his injuries at the
nearby Ibnu Sina Hospital.

The motive for the violence was not immediately clear, and
campus authorities and police are still investigating the
incident.

"We don't know what the motive is because no suspects have
been arrested yet. We only received a report that the clash
involved students from Mapala (a student nature group) and the
Technical School," said Adj. Sr. Comr. Hermansyah Saidi, chief of
detectives of the East Makassar Police.

Ikhsan was a member of Mapala.

Hermansyah said his office was searching for at least 15
students who fled after the attack.

"Seven of the 15 students are believed to be the key
suspects," he said.

UMI deputy rector Lambang Basri Said for student affairs said
the university had identified the 15 suspects and submitted their
names and addresses to the police.

He said his office has set up a fact-finding team to
investigate the incident.

Lambang said the university condemned the violence, which he
believed was triggered by a trivial matter but developed into a
fatal clash involving students from different organizations.

"We lament the incident. It was caused by a trivial matter.
Several students stood in front of gate two and looked at each
other and some of them felt offended," he said.

He said the university had handed over the case to the police
for investigation.

Anyone found guilty of involvement in the incident will be
subject to academic punishment, ranging from suspension to
expulsion, he said.

Lambang said he had also asked the local police to patrol the
campus until the situation returned to normal.

This was the second fatal incident this month at an institute
of higher learning.

On Sept. 2, Wahyu Hidayat, a 20-year-old student at the Public
Administration Institute (STPDN) in Sumedang, West Java, died
after being beaten by older students.

Nine STPDN students are being held for questioning over the
attack.

Police have charged the suspects with violating articles 351,
352 and 170 of the Criminal Code on bullying and premeditated
violence.

"With the accumulation of the charges under the three
articles, the suspects could face a minimum of five years in
jail," Sumedang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Yoyok Subagyono said
on Tuesday.

The suspects' lawyer, Singap Pandjaitan, filed a request for
his clients' release, arguing that their parents were suffering
from depression because of the matter. Yoyok turned down the
request.

The death of Wahyu sparked widespread criticism of STPDN,
which is run by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Some critics have
urged the closure of the institute, which has a reputation for
military-style discipline.

Many alumnus of the institute have demanded that STPDN
administrator Sutrisno resign for failing to prevent violence on
the campus.

Last year, another STPDN student died after allegedly being
beaten by older students.