Medan - As hospitals and mosques in Malang, Indonesia, work to identify victims of Saturday’s stadium stampede, anger is mounting toward police and the role they might have played in the deadly disaster - particularly against the scandal-ridden National Police force.
On Saturday night, after the final whistle at a soccer match at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, fans from the losing team, Arema FC, leaped over barriers and entered the field, prompting security personnel to beat them back.
Riot police in helmets and shields eventually fired canisters of tear gas directly into tightly packed stands, fuelling mass panic.
As of Monday morning, local health officials said at least 125 people, including 17 children, were killed while trying to escape through the stadium’s narrow exits, some of which were closed, according to survivors. An additional 44 spectators were injured.
Nico Afinta, the police chief in East Java, where Malang is located, said officers used tear gas because “there was anarchy” and because Arema supporters “were about to attack the officers.” But witness testimonies, along with videos from the event that have been widely shared among Indonesian users on social media, dispute his account.
The police department’s narrative has made relatives of those who died in the stampede feel “re-victimised,” said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International’s Indonesia office.
“First, their family members died. Now police are trying to blame their loved ones for it,” said Hamid, adding that Amnesty has received dozens of messages from angry, grieving families.
Hundreds gathered for vigils and protests on Sunday night in Malang, many of them calling for the government to launch an independent investigation into what happened.
“The biggest question that everyone has is ‘why?’” said Yandi Hartantyo, 45, a radio journalist who was sitting in the stadium’s media box when officers began to fire tear gas.
“I cannot understand why tear gas was being fired at the spectators in the stands. I have no idea why they did this.”