TGIPF: Kanjuruhan Stadium Unfit for High-risk Matches

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

President Joko Widodo saw firsthand the conditions at the Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang Regency, on Wednesday (5/10/2022).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, turned out to be unfit for the holding of high-risk matches, such as Arema FC versus Persebaya, which resulted in the deaths of 131 people last week. The stadium is not equipped with adequate access and exits in case of an emergency.

This was disclosed by Nugroho Setiawan, a member of the Joint Independent Fact Finding Team (TGIPF) for the Kanjuruhan Tragedy in an official statement on Sunday (9/10/2022). “The exits [at Kanjuruhan] are inadequate. The door is also used for entrance. There's no emergency exit. This stadium is only suitable for medium and low risk matches," he said.

In addition, from his investigation in Kanjuruhan, Nugroho also found that the condition of the stairs to the exit was quite steep, namely 30 centimeters. “The normal height is 18 cm. So, basically, with a normal height, we will not fall when we run down,” said Nugroho, who is a security officer in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The conditions that were not ideal caused many people to lose their lives when they were jostling for the exit after tear gas was fired by security forces into the stands. Most of the victims died as a result of falling, being trampled and difficulty breathing (asphyxia).

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“I saw footage from the CCTV, especially [the condition] at door 13. It was terrible. The door was open, but narrow. The situation was that people were scrambling to get out, while some had fallen, fainted, were squeezed and stepped on because of the [panic] effect of the tear gas. The build-up [at the exit] and the moment the spectators died was recorded on CCTV," said Nugroho.

According to Nugroho, there needs to be corrective steps, namely changing the structure and access and exits at the Kanjuruhan Stadium to prevent a similar incident from happening again. “The effect of the substance contained in tear gas is also extraordinary [to the victim]. It needs to be considered [banned] for crowd control in the future," he said.

One of the suspects is the president director of PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB), Akhmad Hadian Lukita, who is considered responsible for ensuring the feasibility of the stadium.

The temporary findings from the TGIPF are in-line with the investigation conducted by the National Police. National Police Chief Gen. (Pol) Listyo Sigit Prabowo on Thursday (6/10) announced six suspects in the tragedy. One of the suspects is the president director of PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB), Akhmad Hadian Lukita, who is considered responsible for ensuring the feasibility of the stadium.

It is suspected that his party did not verify the security and feasibility of the Kanjuruhan Stadium properly for the 2022 competition. PT LIB was also caught using the old verification results in 2020. That, too, was with a number of notes.

“We respect the applicable legal process and will follow all stages. We also hope that this incident will be a valuable lesson for all parties,” said Akhmad about his naming as a suspect in the tragedy.

Security officers highlighted

Apart from Akhmad, a number of police officers who authorized and ordered the use of tear gas were also named as suspects. The use of chemical means to disperse the crowd was criticized by the Civil Society Coalition Fact Finding Team at a press conference yesterday. This coalition consists of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KONTRAS), and the Lokataru Foundation.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Members of the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) Pudji Hartanto (front left) with Albertus Wahyurudhanto visit the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Kepanjeng, Malang, East Java, on Tuesday (4/10/2022).

According to the LBH and KONTRAS, based on the testimony of witnesses and videos collected from the location of the tragedy, the arrival of the fans on the field was not originally intended to commit violence. They wanted to give encouragement to the players because they had played optimally, even though they were defeated by Persebaya.

However, somehow, in the south stands, tear gas was fired [by the officers].

“When many supporters started to descend, they were actually pushed back by security forces. At that point, we saw the situation was getting under control. However, somehow, in the south stands, tear gas was fired [by the officers],” said Jauhar Kurniawan from LBH Surabaya.

The Civil Society Coalition saw potential violations of crowd control regulations in the case in Malang. The use of tear gas should be the final step that must be preceded by verbal appeals and the use of water cannons. However, the initial stage was not carried out. "Supposedly, in conditions of mass escalation which began to subside, the officers did not need to fire tear gas," said Jauhar.

Andi Muhammad Rizaldi from KONTRAS explained that the overreaction from security officers made other supporters angry and took to the field, too. The acts of violence against the supporters were not only carried out by the police, but also soldiers of the Indonesian Military (TNI).

“The effects of tear gas have a negative impact on health. Not only on vision, but can also cause respiratory tract disorders," he said. (JON N/WER)

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.