Vitorio Mantalean, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition fact finding team (TPF) has conducted an investigation for at least seven days related to the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy in which 131 people died on October 1 as a result of teargas fired by police.
The TPF is made of the Malang Legal Aid Foundation (LBH), the Surabaya LBH, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the Lokataru Foundation, the IM 57+ Institute (former Corruption Eradication Commission investigators) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).
"The situation at the moment is that the public is still in a state of morning, nevertheless, they still continue to demand truth and justice by calling for a full investigation of the case through banners put up on street corners around greater Malang", said Kontras Legal Division Head Andi Muhammad Rezaldi in a press release on Sunday October 9.
The Coalition also held a press conference on Sunday afternoon where they said that they had spoken with a number of witnesses, victims and the families of victims.
Some of these victims are still suffering from bruising, concussion, skin rashes on their faces and trauma due to the violence they suffered.
Based on the results of the Coalition's investigation, the team found at least 12 preliminary findings. They concluded that the Kanjuruhan Football Stadium tragedy was a case of alleged "systematic crimes which did not just involve those in the field".
"Based on the initial findings above, we believe that acts of violence were committed intentionally and systematically, [which were] committed by the security forces, that did not just involved the field actors, which have already been declared suspects (charged) by the police", said Rezaldi.
"But there were other actors, in higher positions who should also be held liable, and need to be followed up legally", he continued.
The following are the 12 preliminary findings based on the documents released by the Coalition TPF:
1. In the middle of the second round, troops carrying teargas were mobilised, yet it is known that there was no threat or potential security disturbance at the time.
2. When the match between the Arema Football Club and Persebaya team finished, it is known that a number of supporters entered the field, based on the testimonies of witnesses who were there, and that this happened simply because the supporters wanted to provide motivation and give moral support to all the players.
3. That before the teargas was fired, there were no efforts by the authorities to use other methods such as methods which would have had a preventative impact, an oral or verbal warning, or control using unarmed physical force.
4. That the violence suffered by the supporters was not just committed by members of the police but also TNI (Indonesian military) personnel in various forms such as dragging, punching and kicking people.
5. Based on the testimonies by supporters, the teargas that was fired was not just directed at the field, but was also directed at the South, East and North stands so that this gave rise to an extraordinary level of panic among supporters in the stands.
6. When people wanted to exit [the stadium] the evacuation access points were narrow, a pile up occurred because several of the doors were locked, and this was worsened by the huge amount of teargas fired by the police. This had a fatal impact resulting in victims having difficulties breathing and causing deaths.
7. After suffering a series of acts of violence, the supporters who jostled with each other to exit the stadium were given minimal immediate assistance by the police and the victims had to find their own way to get out.
8. Acts of violence and suffering did not just occur inside the stadium, but also occurred outside. Police also fired teargas at supporters who were outside the stadium.
9. Following the incident, there were certain parties who intimidated people both through communication devices as well as directly.
10. To this day there is still no detailed information from the government that can be accessed by the public on the number of deaths and injuries, including information on developments in dealing with the case which is being handled by the police.
11. When the TPF was still delving into the facts, it communicated with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) then conveyed a number of reports. The team claimed not to have seen any real work being done by the government sponsored Independent Joint Fact Finding Team (TGIPF) to meet with witness and victims.
12. In relation to the narrative that alcohol was found and the use of the term "riot", this is misleading information.
"In this affair, it is considered wrong to use the term 'riot', what actually happened was there a systematic attack and the killing of civilians", said the Coalition TPF.
"Then, with regard to the presence of alcoholic beverages, this is information which could confuse the focus of the investigation, because it is impossible for there to have been alcoholic drinks in the stadium because when people entered the stadium the Panpel [organising committee] and the police", reiterated the team.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Tim Pencari Fakta Kontras dkk Rilis 12 Temuan Awal Tragedi Kanjuruhan, Sebut 'Pembunuhan Sistematis'".]
