It has been 10 years since the Semanggi II shootings, but Yap Pit Sing was still emotionally overwhelmed when recalling how his son, Yap Yun Hap, died of a bullet allegedly from the rifles of military officers on Sept. 24, 1999.
"I earn my money for my son's college not out of corruption practice. Why did they gun him down? It's corrupt officials who are supposed to die, not my son!" the 53-year-old Pit Sing said at the top of his voice, Thursday.
"I cannot and will not forgive whoever has killed my son for good," he said.
Pit Sing and his wife Ho Kim Ngo, along with dozens of activists from Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), spread red roses at the sidewalks in front of the Atmajaya Catholic University campus near Semanggi in South Jakarta to observe the tragedy.
Their son, Yun Hap, a then 22-year-old student of University of Indonesia, was shot dead at while he and a number of his fellow college students were demonstrating against authoritarian regime under president Soeharto. The incident has been known as Semanggi II tragedy.
A year before in November, security officers clashed with students at the same vicinity, ended the deaths of 15 civilians and two police officers. More than 400 were reportedly injured in the bloodshed, later known as Semanggi I tragedy.
Both perpetrators and the mastermind of the two incidents have never been revealed.
When asked if he was still pursuing justice regarding to his son's death, Pit Sing said, "Yes, of course. But I don't see justice will come soon.
"I think President SBY *Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono* has the capability to shed light on this mystery, but he seems lack of political will to do that," Pit Sing said.
Human rights activist, Usman Hamid, said that he urged Yudhoyono to prove his pledge during campaign season that he would finish all of human right abuse cases, including Semanggi I and II tragedies.
"We have witnessed three presidents since the incident but no fruitful progress of the investigation of the cases has been made," the coordinator of the Kontras said.
Usman is now also a suspect for a defamation case against Muchdi Purwopranjono, a former Intelligence Agency (BIN) general.
Usman believed that Muchdi had taken part in orchestrating the murder of Munir Said Thalib, a noted human rights activist and the founder of Kontras. (bbs)
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