Foreign
INDONESIA’S president on Wednesday visited the victims of last weekend’s football stadium stampede, which left more than 130 people dead.
The visit has come amid calls for accountability in the aftermath of one of the world’s deadliest sports disasters.
Joko Widodo symbolically handed over 50 million rupiah (3,300 dollars) in assistance to each family who lost a loved one in the stampede at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang on Saturday night.
“I told all the patients that the cost of treatment will be borne by the government,” he told reporters.
Some 133 people died in the disaster, including 37 minors aged 17 or younger, the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection said.
Chaos erupted after thousands of fans invaded the pitch at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang as hosts Arema FC lost 3-2 to rival East Java club Persebaya Surabaya.
Police fired tear gas to try to quell the pitch invaders, sending spectators scrambling to the exit gates.
The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) said on Tuesday that a delay in opening the gates contributed to the stampede.
“Some doors were not opened. The reason was there (that) those who were asked to open didn’t do it immediately,” said Erwin Tobing, a member of the PSSI disciplinary committee.
But national police spokesperson Dedi Prasetyo said the gates near the scene of the stampede were open but were too small.
“The doors were not closed but they were too narrow … Hundreds struggled to get out, causing a stampede,” he told reporters late Tuesday.
Widodo said he had ordered the Public Works Ministry to audit all stadiums used in league matches to ensure the buildings and facilities comply with safety standards.
“Are the gates up to standards? Are they wide enough?” he said.
PSSI on Tuesday announced that two officials belonging to Arema FC, which was hosting the ill-fated match, would be banned from professional football for life.
On Monday, the national police fired the police chief of Malang and suspended eight other commanding officers.
At least 28 officers are also being investigated for suspected ethical violations in connection with the incident.
The government has formed a joint independent fact-finding team amid public calls for a thorough investigation into the disaster.
The use of tear gas raised questions about whether security personnel had followed proper procedures in dealing with a crowd inside a stadium.
The Under-20 World Cup, organised by world football governing body FIFA, is set to take place in Indonesia next year.
Indonesia has also applied to host the 2023 Asian Cup after China withdrew because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clashes among rival fans, sometimes fatal, are common in the football-mad country, where matches are regularly attended by tens of thousands of people.
At least 78 people have been killed since the 1990s in football-related violence involving rival fans in Indonesia, according to Save Our Soccer, a local football watchdog.(dpa/NAN)
KN
Tags: Dedi Prasetyo Erwin Tobing Joko Widodo
