In what has been referred to as the first Semanggi shooting on November 13, 1998, in Jakarta, student activist Bernardinus Realino Norma Irmawan, who was 20 at the time, was killed with a” standard military bullet.”
When Wawan, as his family called him, was still alive, they may start a conversation about his time in college at the breakfast table, but these topics immediately veered toward politics.
They discussed the necessity of ending corruption and bribery as well as the value of the rule of law. They wanted to discover Suharto and his allies, who had just resigned as president, brought to justice.
Wawan, who by that point had been constantly advocating for legal rights, joined thousands of students in a sit-down demonstration near Atma Jaya University and the Semanggi bridge on November 13, 1998, to express their suspicion of Suharto’s son, former president BJ Habibie.  ,
Life ammunition was fired by the government in retaliation. Wawan, one of 17 people killed, did not make it house that evening.
Mdm Maria and other protesters have carried black umbrellas in front of Jakarta’s National Palace every Thursday to remember the survivors of the killings and kidnappings.
On January 18 of this year, the Kamisan protest—Kamis means Thursday in Bahasa Indonesia—hit its 17th celebration.
Numerous legal and legislative obstacles have stood in Mdm Maria’s way as she fights for justice.
The Semanggi murders were deemed by Indonesia’s House of Representatives and the government, both, in 2007 and 2020 to be” severe” human rights violations and therefore not subject to ad hoc legal action.
Jokowi acknowledged, however, that the murders were one of the 12 serious violations of human rights in January of last year. Without going into detail about criminal actions, he claimed that the government was working to make compensation to victims.
Because Indonesia is a legal position, we reject non-judicial commitments. Every leader takes an oath to uphold the constitution before performing their duties, according to Mdm Maria.
According to the Indonesian charter, “whoever becomes president is obliged and must be responsible for serious human rights violations in accordance with the law,” she said.
On the same day, civil rights organizations issued a statement once more urging Jokowi to convene an impromptu human rights court and find the 13 individuals listed by the National Commission on Human Rights as also missing.
Additionally, they urged the government to adopt the UN Convention for the Safety of All People from Enforced Disappearance and to quickly repair and compensate the people of the missing.