Yogyakartans deplore onlooker's death
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)