Yogyakartans deplore onlooker's death
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Friends and family buried Mozes Gatotkaca, who died during a clash between students and security forces, on Sunday and called for a stop to the harsh measures against student protesters.
The local branch of the Indonesian Bar Association (Ikadin) said in a statement Saturday that it deplored the clash, saying the incident had gone beyond the limit.
"No matter what the reason or the cause was, we feel very sorry over the death," the statement, signed by chairman Ramdlon Naning, said.
The association warned that the death would only compound the situation and could trigger worse incidents between students and security forces.
Noted sociologist Loekman Soetrisno from Gadjah Mada University added that the security forces' harsh measures would only inflict "wounds" and incite "vengeance" instead of solving the problem.
Mozes Gatotkaca, 39, a member of the Yogyakarta Search and Rescue (SAR) team, died Friday evening after being struck a fatal blow to the back of his head with a blunt object.
His colleagues said Saturday that Mozes had been badly beaten by security officers when they dispersed thousands of protesters on Jl. Gejayan.
Colleagues said Mozes and some friends were about to dine at a restaurant when they were confronted by security officers chasing student protesters near the Yogyakarta Teachers Training Institute and Sanata Darma University.
Ikadin called on students to maintain self-control and ensure the purity of their struggle for economic and political reforms. It reminded the students to remain vigilant over provocation and infiltrators.
It also demanded that the authorities arrest the suspects of the incident and prosecute them before the law.
The provincial chapter of the United Development Party (PPP) also expressed rage by pledging to indefinitely suspend their participation in sessions at the provincial legislature due to the incident.
Thousands of people attended Mozes' funeral at Cunguk cemetery Sunday in Sleman, some 15 kilometers north of Yogyakarta.
Stacks of wreaths poured in, many apparently sent by leading figures such as Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Mozes' death is regarded as the first direct fatality in the student protests which have escalated across the country.
Separately in Bandung, West Java, another casualty of the protests was buried. Second Lt. Dadang Rusmana, 43, was laid to rest in a military funeral Sunday at Cikutra Heroes Cemetery.
The head of the Bogor Police intelligence unit was killed at a rally on Juanda University's campus Saturday, when he was hit by a stone thrown by protesters.
Dadang's brother, Yusra, demanded that the National Commission on Human Rights investigate the case.
Bogor Police chief Col. Abubakar Nataprawira said yesterday the police arrested three students for their alleged involvement in the incident.
The three suspects were identified as Emon Mulyadi, Tubagus Ade and Syaiful. Abubakar added that the police were looking for three other suspects.
Meanwhile in Semarang, Central Java, PPP's regional board instructed all of its supporters throughout the province yesterday to put up banners inscribed with "reform" to support students.
In Surabaya, East Java, the situation was tense yesterday as security forces guarded shopping centers, shops and government buildings.
They were able to disperse some 1,000 people earlier who were going to stage a well-anticipated rally at the Pahlawan monument.
In Medan, North Sumatra, local police said they were still detaining 54 people for their alleged involvement in last week's rioting. (byg/21/23/har/nur/edt)