Jakarta – Around 50 Trisakti University students were arrested by police in Jakarta on Wednesday May 21 while holding a demonstration to commemorate the 27th anniversary of reformasi and the Trisakti student shootings in May 1998.
The person temporarily responsible for the rally, Trisakti University Student Presidency (Kepresma Usakti) Foreign Affairs Minister Teguh said that the protesters who were arrested were taken to the Metro Jaya Regional Police (Polda) station.
"All the demonstrators were taken to Polda. Approximately 50 (people)", said Teguh via a text message on Wednesday.
Teguh said the protesters were arrested at the location of the protest, the Jakarta City Hall. He also said that one of those arrested was the Trisakti University Student Council President Faiz Nabawi Mulya.
Based on a circular advertising the action issued by the Trisakti University Student Presidency, today's action was to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the dark tragedy of May 12, 1998.
The incident claimed the lives of four Trisakti University students, namely Elang Mulia Lesmana, Heri Hartanto, Hafidin Royan and Hendriawan Sie. They died at the hands of the state apparatus during a peaceful demonstration demanding political reforms.
Separately, Central Jakarta Metro District Police Chief Senior Commissioner Susatyo Purnomo Condro said that the number of students arrested was still being recorded. "It's still being recorded", he said when contacted by CNN Indonesia.
Condro also said that in securing the demonstration, some of his personnel were injured. He did not however explain in more detail the cause of the injuries. "Seven police officers were injured", he said. (mnf/dis/wis)
Notes
On May 12, 1998, security personnel fired into a crowd of student protesters from the Trisakti University near their campus in West Jakarta, killing four students and injuring several others. This proved to be the spark which set-off three days of mass demonstrations and rioting in Jakarta that eventually lead former president Suharto being forced to resign on May 21, 1998.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Mahasiswa Trisakti Demo 27 Tahun Reformasi Ditangkap Polisi".]
