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Komnas HAM blames use of tear gas for Kanjuruhan stampede
Officials from the human rights commission said 135 people had died in the stampede, mostly from asphyxiation, after the match at Kanjuruhan stadium on Oct. 1.
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A cloud of tear gas rises over the stands at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, after the match between home team Arema FC and rival Persebaya Surabaya on Saturday. (Kompas.com/Suci Rahayu)
P
olice firing tear gas was the main trigger for a deadly soccer stampede at a stadium in East Java last month, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) found in a report on the incident released on Wednesday.
Officials from the human rights commission said 135 people had died in the stampede, mostly from asphyxiation, after the match at Kanjuruhan stadium on Oct. 1.
Authorities and the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) have faced questions and criticism in recent weeks over why police fired tear gas inside the stadium, a crowd control measure banned by world soccer governing body FIFA.
Komnas HAM echoed similar conclusions made last month by a government fact-finding team, which found multiple factors like the excessive use of tear gas, locked doors, an overcapacity stadium and failure to properly implement safety procedures exacerbated the deadly crush.
Komnas HAM commissioners specified seven violations human rights in one of the world's worst stadium disasters, including the excessive use of force and violation of children's rights.
Police initially described the Kanjuruhan incident as a riot and said two officers were killed, but survivors accused them of overreacting.
Officers responded to the pitch invasion with force, kicking and hitting fans with batons, according to witnesses and video footage, pushing fans back into the stands where many would be trampled or suffocate to death after the tear gas was fired.
The chief of Malang police was replaced soon after the incidence, nine officers were suspended and 19 others were put under investigation over the disaster in the stadium, which was filled with only hometown Arema FC fans.
Those suspended were members of the Mobile Brigade Corps, or Brimob, a paramilitary unit for the National Police force notorious for its aggressive crowd control tactics.
