Dessy Sagita – Thirteen years after at least 12 university students and other civilians were killed by security forces in a demonstration at the Semanggi cloverleaf in South Jakarta, their former comrades-in-arms have demanded justice.

Ignatius Indro, a former Atmajaya University student who took part in the massive show of people power that took to the streets of the capital on Nov. 13, 1998, said on Sunday that no one from the armed forces had been held accountable for the tragedy.

"Thirteen years have passed, which is a very long time, yet there has been no legal closure or sense of justice for our friends who were killed," he said.

Dozens of former student activists and sympathizers turned up for a memorial on Sunday outside Atmajaya, in the heart of Semanggi, to lay floral wreaths and pray for those killed.

The event came months after a popular uprising, with university students at the helm, led to the ouster of President Suharto.

The euphoria was tempered by widespread dissatisfaction that the New Order's legislature had not been replaced and a sense that the administration of B.J. Habibie, Suharto's hand-picked successor, was illegitimate.

When students and other supporters gathered at Semanggi to march on the House of Representatives, police began firing into the crowd. Ignatius said that five students and seven civilians were killed and more than 800 others were injured.

"The security forces kept firing at us until the next morning," he said. "Our march was a peaceful demonstration. We don't know why the security forces deemed it necessary to attack us with tear gas, water canons and live ammunition."

Okky Satrio, a journalist at the demonstration, said he was disappointed with the government's lack of commitment in bringing the killers to justice. "The current regime... has chosen to overlook the fact that the 1998 incident was a slaughter by the security forces," he said.