The Indonesian families of those who died in the disaster at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang a year ago joined hundreds of fans and survivors in marking the anniversary of the tragedy at a candlelight vigil at the stadium and renewed calls for justice.
About 300 people traveled in a convoy from central Malang to Kanjuruhan Stadium, some venturing inside for the first time since last year’s disaster that killed 135 people, including children as young as three.
More than 400 people were injured.
Rini Hanifa’s son Agus Rian Syah Pratama Putra pictured before the game [Courtesy of Rini Hanifa]However, Rini Hanifa could not bring herself to enter the place where her 20-year-old son Agus Rian Syah Pratama Putra died.
“Some of the victim’s family members, including me, could not bear it and some people fainted. I felt like I couldn’t breathe,” she told Al Jazeera.
The prayer vigil began at 12 noon on Sunday and continued late into the night. The sense of injustice was palpable as parts of the stadium – which is currently being rebuilt to FIFA specifications – were set on fire and flames spread across the pitch.
However, for Hanifa, the experience of being in Kanjuruhan was overwhelming. She went home early.
“I just stood in front of Gate 13 and thought about how my child must have felt, barely able to breathe because of the tear gas,” she said.
“We all just imagined our children dying there, screaming for help because their lungs were burning.”
The tragedy occurred when Indonesian police fired tear gas into the stands and pitch after a match between local rivals Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya. Police believed there had been an invasion of the pitch by Arema fans, some of whom had climbed onto the pitch after their team lost to Persebaya for the first time in 23 years.
Persebaya fans were not allowed to attend the game due to the intense rivalry between the two teams and fears of violence.
Tear gas against civilians
According to an official report from Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), police fired around 45 rounds of tear gas inside the stadium, leading to the deaths of fans in the stands and a crush at the exits as fans desperately tried to escape.
According to the rules of the international football association FIFA, the use of tear gas in stadiums is prohibited.
Mourners hold a prayer vigil in the stadium stands [Courtesy of Rini Hanifa]Usman Hamid, the head of Amnesty International’s Indonesia office, told Al Jazeera that Indonesian police appear to have not yet reassessed the use of tear gas against civilians.
“It is regrettable that since the Kanjuruhan tragedy, there continue to be cases of police officers firing tear gas at civilians, as happened on September 7 on Rempang Island,” he said, referring to protests last month against a China-led protest Protest development project.
“We urge the authorities to ensure that the use of force and tactics by security forces must always be within the law and in accordance with human rights standards. We also call on authorities to increase transparency and accountability and make the necessary changes to protect civil society from excessive and potentially dangerous use of force, including tear gas.”
Following the Kanjuruhan tragedy, two civilians, security guard Suko Sutrisno and match organizing committee chairman Abdul Haris, were sentenced to one year and 18 months in prison, respectively, for negligence, including failure to conduct a proper risk assessment of the stadium.
Meanwhile, Malang Government Police Operations Officer Wahyu Setyo Pranoto and Malang Government Police Prevention Unit Chief Bambang Sidik Achmadi were sentenced to two and two and a half years in prison respectively on appeal. The two men were initially acquitted.
Devi Ahok hangs a banner with a photo of his daughters between the goal posts on the field [Courtesy of Devi Ahok]Hasdarmawan, the commander of the East Java Police’s Third Mobile Brigade Company, was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for his involvement in the incident.
However, many of the families and human rights groups feel that justice remains elusive not only because of the comparatively lenient sentences, but also because other police officers are not prosecuted and officers higher up the chain of command are referred.
Daniel Siagian, the head of the Legal Aid Institute in Malang, told Al Jazeera that the tragedy at Kanjuruhan Stadium was a “black mark on human rights and football in Indonesia.”
“This tragedy confirms that the state is ignoring its responsibility to resolve this case fairly and with dignity. “This incident clearly demonstrated the excessive use of force and brutality by the security forces,” he said.
He added that the incident shows that the Indonesian National Police has not yet fully understood and respected basic human rights.
A father’s grief
Devi Athok, whose daughters, 16-year-old Natasya Debi Ramadhani and 13-year-old Naila Debi Anggraini, died last October, went to the stadium on Sunday afternoon and hung a banner with their faces between the goalposts to demand further accountability for her death.
He also sat at the spot where their bodies were found in the 13th stand.
“I felt like I was sitting with them. I cried because I felt how they must have been tortured by the gas after the police fired it,” he said.
He added that he briefly lost consciousness after being overwhelmed by the grief and stress of attending the stadium.
“I sat in the bleachers where they sat last time and apologized to my two girls,” he said.
“I told them, ‘Please forgive me, Dad couldn’t save you’.”