Singgih Wiryono, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition is urging President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to publically apologise to the victims of the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy.
Coalition member Julius Ibrani from the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) said that an apology by Widodo would also be an admission of state responsibility for the tragedy which took 125 lives.
"The president of the Republic of Indonesia must apologise publically to the victims in the Kanjuruhan humanitarian tragedy and ensure there is comprehensive compensation and rehabilitation for all the victims", said Ibrani in Monday October 3.
In addition to this, the Coalition is also calling on Widodo to form a Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF) to find the cause of the humanitarian tragedy.
This request has already been granted as explained today by Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD.
Third, the Coalition is urging Indonesian police chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo to question his subordinate who were involved in the tragedy.
"(Likewise) the TNI [Indonesian military] commander must question all military personnel who were on duty at the field in terms of ethics, discipline and criminal [liability]", explained Ibrani.
Finally, the Coalition is asking that soccer events no longer involve police and TNI personnel and that the organisers of such events stop using a domestic security approach inside stadiums.
"[And] instead use a public order approach to providing security", concluded Ibrani.
As has been reported, the Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy stemmed from the 2022-23 League 1 11th week match of the between the Arema Football Club and Persebaya Surabaya on Saturday October 1.
Billed as the East Java derby, the duel between Arema and Persebaya was tight, with five goals scored during the match and a 3-2 result in favour of Persebaya.
Apparently supporters of the Arema Football Club refused to accept the outcome. Disappointed, they jumped the fence and spilled onto the field resulting in the situation getting out of control.
The security forces appeared overwhelmed trying to deal with the chaos. The situation spiraled further out of control when security personnel fired teargas in the direction of the spectators stand.
The Kanjuruhan Stadium riot resulted in more than a few victims with President Widodo saying that at least 125 people died as a result of the incident. The majority of deaths were a consequence of people being trampled on or unable to breath because of the teargas.
In response to the incident, the government has formed a Fact Finding Team (TPF) led by Mahfud MD which will investigate the causes and alleged violations in the match which end in such tragedy.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Koalisi Masyarakat Sipil: Jokowi Harus Minta Maaf kepada Korban Tragedi Kanjuruhan".]