Chronology of May 1998 Tragedy
The Jakarta Post (Thursday, May 13, 2004)
May 12, 1998
12:15 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Students hold peaceful demonstrations to demand the
resignation of president Soeharto and the improvement of the economy as a result of the monetary crisis in 1997.
12:30 p.m. Students march to the House of Representatives in Senayan.
1:15 p.m. It is decided to discontinue the march to Senayan and instead march to the Mayor's office in West Jakarta.
1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. The demonstration continues peacefully.
4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. The students gradually return to campus.
5:05 p.m. An argument develops between students and others posing as Trisakti alumni, who later admit to being intelligence officers.
5:15 p.m. There is the sound of gunfire from the back of the student ranks. Tear gas canisters are thrown into the crowd in the campus, students run into various buildings to seek cover.
5:30 p.m. Between four and six officers wearing Brimob police uniforms fire long-distance shots in the direction of the students in the campus from the flyover.
7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Gunfire continues and Trisakti University hold negotiations with the head of the field officers to halt their fire. The force withdraws after four students are killed and several others sustain serious and light injuries.
May 13, 1998
Morning of May 13
Burial and memorial ceremony for the victims of the shooting. Political and community leaders gather at Trisakti campus. Crowds of people arrive and gather outside the campus.
Afternoon of May 13
Riots break out, buildings and shops are looted and burned. It is suspected that those involved in the looting have been provoked by certain parties. The rioting begins in Slipi and spreads to other areas including KH Hasyim Ashari, Roxy, KH Moh. Mansyur and Cengkareng.
May 14, 1998
The violence climaxes, many people are found burned to death in buildings and shops. Chinese-Indonesians are attacked and women raped.
Victims of the May 13 and May 14 riots
288 dead, 101 injured, 92 rape victims
Material Damage
Shops, Banks, Shop-houses, Offices, Houses, Shopping Centers, Warehouses, Gasoline Stations, Cinema Centers, Hotels, Automobile Workshops
Four students die in the Trisakti shooting and are named heroes of the reform movement:
- Elang Mulia Lesmana Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning, majoring in
Architecture, 1996 - Hafidin Royan Faculty of Civil Engineering and Planning, majoring in Civil Engineering, 1996
- Heri Hartanto, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Majoring in Mechanical Engineering
- Hendriawan Sie, Faculty of Economics, majoring in Management, 1996
Characteristics of those suspected as provocateurs of the riots:
- Not locals
- Arrived in trucks, mini buses and motorcycles
- Dressed like thugs, in various locations they used high school uniforms
- Appeared to be too old to be high school students
- Appeared muscular and well-trained in conducting arson, rioting and using Molotov cocktails
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