By: Indah Kumalasari) *
Student demonstrations a few days ago were often associated with a wave of student protests in 1998. In contrast to senior students who overthrew the New Order regime, student demonstrations today or now are considered poor academic studies and are only in tandem. Not infrequently, the demonstration was ridden by foreign interests and eventually led to chaos and made it difficult for the wider community. Students must not take their hands off.
The gait of students who are popular as carriers of people’s aspirations, might sound cool. Moreover, the movement took to the streets, with frills of justice and solidarity that are in the grip. It could also be a call of heart when citizens feel they are in the far left, neglected. Students with all their shortcomings and strengths are prepared to help the citizens, for the sake of their aspirations reaching the country’s authorities.
The portrait of demonstrations in the country has become increasingly complicated. Chaotic pros and cons due to a number of regulations that are considered “odd” for the community experiencing a bombardment of protests. Students form an alliance, where the main goal is to make government more perfect, in carrying out its obligations. However, this kind of pure action must fail, when many anarchist reports occur at the time of the demonstration took place. Very unfortunate is not it?
Some time ago, various demonstrations addressing the RKUHP and the KPK Law Revision ended in chaos in front of the West Java DPRD Building, Bandung City area. At least there are a hundred more fatalities. Students suffered injuries, shortness of breath, until exhausted when clashing with security forces. In fact, six of them have to get serious treatment. The rest only get treatment at the Bandung Islamic University (Unisba) campus.
Based on data written on the Unisba campus announcement board, as many as 105 students received treatment in the campus hall area after the mass of action was dispersed by the security forces. Two of them are suspected of still having vocational high school (SMK) students. Known facilitators as care givers for these students are, Yudi Periandi from the Faculty of Medicine, Unisba. However, there are several elements that help him, namely health workers from Bandung City Health Office.
The average complaint suffered is shortness of breath due to tear gas, shock, sore eyes and bruises on the body. There is one person who suffered a trauma to his chest so he had to get intensive treatment. 6 Among them referred to health services due to the unavailability of drugs in the field.
Unisba Deputy Rector III, Asep Ramdan, admitted that the treatment of the demonstration activists was done voluntarily. He stated if the institution was an incidental evacuation point. He considered that his party did not have special preparations. However, there is an obligation to provide first aid, especially to the students who save themselves. However, not a few evacuation processes were carried out for students from other campuses. In fact, he asserted if this help was carried out free of charge, without fees.
Unisba campus itself is considered quite close to the location of the demonstration, namely in West Java Parliament Building. Since the first day of the demonstration, many students were injured and treated. Asep added that this action was carried out as a process of delivering aspirations guaranteed in the Act. Because seeing what is happening on the ground does not match what they understand. Then this is interpreted as an intellectual obligation.
In addition, the Indonesian Legal Aid Center (PBHI) of West Java has opened a complaint hotline service. Namely those who are victims of violence, harassment, and material losses committed by the security forces, including those detained by the authorities in the People’s Action against the State.
If viewed from the side of the security forces (TNI and POLRI) it certainly cannot be purely blamed. Given their task is to participate in maintaining security. When various appeals and warnings were ignored by the demonstrators, and instead began to push for anarchist actions, repressive measures were taken as a form of self-defense as well. This was done if the demonstrators were deemed unable to control their movements. In fact, there are also reportedly a number of unscrupulous officers who also suffered injuries to death.
The possibility of an indication of third party complicity is also inevitable. Given there are a number of facts that unfold as incidents occur. It could be that this student purely made a speech as the delivery of aspirations. But made chaos by irresponsible. Which one wants the situation to become more complicated.
Apart from all that, the future expectations of students must be more selective in carrying out actions like this. Do not cause various adverse anarchic acts. On the other hand, it must continue to hold hands with the security forces so that they can create security and public order. It’s not too late to do the remedial of the red report card demonstrations today.
) * The writer is a social media activist
