MALANG | Indonesian police were in the hot seat on Tuesday, accused by fans of having aggravated a crowd movement that killed 131 people in a stadium this weekend, one of the worst tragedies in the history of soccer.
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In the face of public anger, sanctions fell on the police officers found responsible for the deadly stampede after a match in 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.
Regional Police Chief Nico Afinta apologized. “I am concerned, saddened and at the same time sorry for the shortcomings within the security apparatus,” he said.
The death toll also rose to 131 on Tuesday, with six new victims succumbing to their injuries, according to the head of the local health agency, Wiyanto Wijoyo.
Saturday evening, the stands of the Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang were full of thousands of young “Aremania”, supporters who came to their Arema FC team to face that of the neighboring town of Persebaya Surabaya.
But after a 3-2 defeat of theirs, the first in decades, admirers took to the field to challenge players and managers.
Police described the situation as a “riot”.
But supporters accused law enforcement of overreacting.
Police tried to control the crowd on the pitch by force, with batons, according to witnesses and video footage, but this encouraged more supporters to come and lend a hand to those already on the pitch.
“If there were riots, the tear gas should have been directed towards the field, not towards the stands”, judged Danny Agung Prasetyo, coordinator of supporters of Arema FC.
Pre-game alerts
Supporters of the local club set up a complaints center in Malang on Monday and announced they intended to prosecute police officers found responsible for randomly targeting crowds trapped in the stands.
The city’s police chief was sacked on Monday and nine police officers suspended, while 19 police officers were questioned about the disaster at the stadium, where only Arema FC fans were present, the director of the national police, Dedi Prasetyo.
The suspended officers belonged to the Mobile Brigade (Brimob), a paramilitary police unit known for its aggressive crowd management methods, he said.
Indonesian police intelligence had alerted the organizing committee to potential clashes at the game, the Indonesian National Police Commission revealed in its initial assessment on Tuesday. The use of tear gas was also not provided for in the device.
The Indonesian football federation for its part banned for life on Tuesday two officials of the local club Arema FC and imposed a fine of 250 million Indonesian rupees (about 16,500 euros).
The government has suspended all matches in the national premier league and launched an investigation into the tragedy. It could last two to three weeks.
But calls for an independent investigation grew as details emerged of the bloody Saturday-Sunday night.
“There is no directive to fire tear gas” or “to close” the doors, Albertus Wahyurudhanto, member of the Indonesian Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), explained at a press conference on Tuesday.
In a sign of fans’ anger, carcasses of burnt-out police vehicles were visible outside the stadium and numerous graffiti appeared criticizing the police. “Our friends died here,” accused one of them.
New funeral vigils were planned for Tuesday, after the laying of flowers and petals the day before in front of the stadium in tribute to the victims.
Violence in Indonesian football has been a long-standing issue and Persebaya Surabaya fans were banned from this match. But the supporters claim not to be at the origin of the tragedy, 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 game here,” said Pangeran Siahaan, an Indonesian football expert. “There are a lot of dangers every time you go to a football stadium in Indonesia.”
On Tuesday, the European Football Federation (UEFA) announced that a minute’s silence in memory of the 131 people who died in the stampede would take place before all European football matches scheduled for this week.