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Death of self-immolating student sparks online movement
The death of Sondang Hutagalung, a student who set himself on fire in an anti-government protest, has sparked an online movement to make him an icon for an antigraft movement
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he death of Sondang Hutagalung, a student who set himself on fire in an anti-government protest, has sparked an online movement to make him an icon for an antigraft movement.
Last goodbye: Students of Bung Karno University pay tribute on Sunday to self-immolating student Sondang Hutagalung, who set himself on fi re on Dec. 7 in protest in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta. Sondang was pronounced dead on Saturday after being treated in the intensive care unitat Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Jakarta. Antara/Rosa Panggabean
On Sunday, a group of users of the popular social networking site Facebook set up a group called An Anti-graft Solidarity for Self-Immolating Sondang.
“This group is set up to give support to Sondang for sacrificing his life in the fight against corruption and criticizing the government, which has failed to combat corruption,” the group said in its description.
Tributes and condolences also poured in on the microblogging site, Twitter, where hundreds of feeds praised him as a martyr in the fight against graft.
“Time for change, remember Tunisia, dissolve the legislature,” Rakrian Yoga said in his Twitter feed, alluding to the death of Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi from self-immolation, which sparked the Tunisian revolution that led to the ouster of the country’s president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
The remains of Sondang were laid to rest at Pondok Kelapa cemetery in East Jakarta at noon.
“We will bury him at Pondok Kelapa cemetery at noon, after a wake at his campus and his home,” Sondang’s brother, Bob Crispianza Hutagalung said before the burial on Sunday, as quoted by tempo.co.
The burial was attended by hundreds of people, including Sondang’s friends and fellow activists.
Sondang died on Saturday afternoon after a week in intensive care.
The 22-year-old, a student at Bung Karno University, set himself ablaze in front of the Merdeka Palace on Dec. 7.
Sondang was the youngest of four children of taxi driver Victor Hutagalung and homemaker Dame
Sipahutar.
Bung Karno University will grant an honorary bachelor’s degree to him.
The honorary degree will be granted in appreciation of the struggle of Sondang, who had been actively involved in a number of anti-government protests.
He doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire in one such protests on Dec. 7, and was subsequently treated in the intensive care unit of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta. He died on Saturday afternoon.
“A number of public figures and organizations suggested granting the honorary bachelor’s degree,” university deputy rector Daniel Panda said on Sunday in Jakarta as quoted by tempo.co.
He added that the granting of the degree should not been taken as encouragement for other students to do the same thing.
“As an academic, I hope there will be no repeat of such a measure. There are other options. This is a too high a sacrifice.”
He was in the class of 2007 of Bung Karno University’s Law School and was reportedly due to attend his graduation ceremony.
Police have yet to determine the motive for Sondang’s death.
President Susilo Bambang Yu-dhoyono expressed his condolences over the death of Sondang Hutagalung, a presidential aide said.
“President SBY is saddened and shares the sadness of his [Sondang’s] parents and relatives,” presidential special staff for political communications Daniel said Sunday, as quoted by kompas.com.
Daniel said that many lessons could be learned from the unfortunate incident.
“We believe that there are thousands of messages left following the death of Sondang,” he said.
Sondang sustained burns to 90 percent of his body.
