Jakarta – "History speaks for itself." This was the response a mother of a victim killed during the 1998 Trisakti shooting in West Jakarta gave when asked about the zero law enforcement against the killers.
Hira Tetty, the 54-year-old mother of Elang Mulya, said she and three other victims' families did not feel that justice had been done, despite it being seven years since the reform movement began and the downfall of former strongman Soeharto.
Elang was shot dead allegedly by security personnel on May 12, 1998. Three other Trisakti University students were killed, namely Hafidhin Royan, Hendriawan Lesmana and Herry Hartanto.
"As a parent, I am tired of seeking justice on earth for my son, but I believe it will happen in the hereafter," Tetty told The Jakarta Post on Sunday, speaking on behalf of herself and the parents of the three other victims.
Elang, born on July 15, 1978, was the second of her three children and studied architecture at Trisakti University.
Tetty and the parents of Hafidhin, Hendriawan and Herry have struggled to have the truth revealed, but to no avail.
As if Elang's death was not enough reason to mourn, Tetty also lost her beloved husband five years later. Bagus Yoga Nandita passed away in 2003 after suffering constant depression over the loss of his son.
Now, Tetty has to fight alone for justice without her husband. "My husband used to actively attend meetings with the other victims' families and people concerned with us, such as lawyers, lecturers, students and non-governmental organizations, to fight together.
"Although in the end they became no different from a ping-pong ball as they met with different House of Representatives members," she said.
The House sparked condemnation from human rights activists upon declaring that the Trisakti tragedy was not a case of gross human rights abuse. Earlier, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) reported it had found systematic gross human rights violations committed during the tragedy followed by deadly riots in Jakarta.
Tetty said that even though people had sacrificed their lives for the reform movement, the situation in the country had not significantly improved. Many others have voiced the same opinion.
"Nothing has improved. Graft is still rampant, riots still take place and the Trisakti tragedy has never been resolved," said Tetty, a housemother who lives off her late husband's pension from Bank Indonesia.
The families of the Trisakti tragedy victims no longer expect the killers to be brought to trial. "The case has been going on for seven years like a ping-pong game. But (the victims) should at least get recognition as heroes of the reform movement," Tetty said.
The Trisakti tragedy was followed by mass riots, which ravaged Jakarta and several other cities from May 13 through May 15, 1998. This preceded the end of 32 years of authoritarian rule of Soeharto, who quit on May 21 that year. However, nobody has been held accountable for the tragedy.
The 16-member independent team set up by Komnas HAM in March 2003 failed to question most of the military officers active at the time as they refused to comply with summonses issued by Komnas HAM.
They included then Jakarta Military Commander Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (now the Ministry of Defense secretary-general) and Sjafrie's former assistant Maj. Gen. Tritamtomo (now the Bukit Barisan military commander).
Activists recently urged the House to propose the establishment of an ad hoc human rights tribunal so that all suspects could be summoned. The call came as the Attorney General's Office seemed reluctant to follow up on the findings by the independent team.