Investigators were questioning Indonesian police officials on Tuesday (October 4th) after a crowd movement in a stadium that killed 125 people after a match this weekend, in one of the worst dramas in the history of the soccer.
In the face of public anger, the first sanctions fell on those found responsible for the deadly stampede that unleashed at the football stadium in Malang (East Java) when the police began to send large quantities of tear gas to control the crowd, according to witnesses.
“Many victims”
Fans of local club Arema FC set up a complaint center in Malang on Monday and announced they intended to prosecute police officers found responsible for randomly targeting crowds trapped in the stands.
"
If there were riots, the tear gas should have been directed towards the field, not towards the stands
," Danny Agung Prasetyo, supporters' coordinator for the Arema DC group, told AFP.
“
There were many victims among those who were in the stands.
They panicked because of the tear gas
”.
The city's police chief was sacked on Monday and nine officers suspended, while 19 officers were being questioned over the disaster at the stadium occupied by Arema FC's only fans, national police chief Dedi said on Monday. Prasetyo.
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The government has suspended all matches in the national premier league and announced that it has started an investigation into the tragedy.
It could last two to three weeks.
The stands at Kanjuruhan Stadium were filled with thousands of young '
Aremania
' supporters of Arema FC who came to watch their team play against rival Persebaya Surabaya from neighboring town on Saturday night.
But after their side lost 3-2, the first in decades, fans took to the pitch to address the players and management.
Police tried to control crowds on the pitch by force, with batons, according to witnesses and video footage, but this encouraged more fans to come and lend a hand to those already on the pitch .
Calls for an independent investigation grew as details of the bloody Saturday-Sunday evening emerged.
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“Excessive use of force”
“
If there had been no tear gas, there might not have been any chaos
,” said Choirul Anam, a member of the National Commission for Human Rights, on Monday evening.
“
We will see what really happened with regard to the violence and the excessive use of force
”.
In a sign of fans' anger, carcasses of burnt-out police vehicles were visible in front of the stadium, and numerous graffiti appeared criticizing the police.
One of them points out that “
our friends died here
”.
New wakes were scheduled for Tuesday after flowers and petals were laid outside the stadium the day before in tribute to the victims.
The health ministry said all the victims had been identified.
He identified 68 seriously injured and 219 people with minor injuries.
Violence in Indonesian football has been a long-standing problem and fans of nearby club Persebaya Surabaya were banned from the match.
But the supporters assure that they are not at the origin of the tragedy.
Indonesian officials said more tickets than expected were sold and, according to witnesses, some doors remained closed at the time of the stampede.
“Tear gas bombs”
The strongest spectators were able to scale barriers and thus manage to escape the movement of the crowd, but the most vulnerable, including women and dozens of children, did not survive the pressure of the crowd and the tear gas .
"
The doors were closed, that's why people were pushing
", while some took refuge in the corners, a 16-year-old survivor told AFP.
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In the stands, some were hit directly "
by tear gas canisters
".
This tragedy is the worst ever recorded in an Indonesian stadium.
“
You could see that something bad could happen.
It's the kind of fear you have when you go to see a match here
,” Pangeran Siahaan, an Indonesian football expert, told AFP.
"
There are a lot of dangers every time you go to a football stadium in Indonesia
."
