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‘More lenient than to a chicken thief’: Grief, anger run high in Indonesia’s Malang a year after deadly football stampede

Two students gazing at a giant banner bearing the photos of those who were killed during a 2022 stampede at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, Indonesia. (Photo: CNA/Wisnu Agung Prasetyo)

135 people were killed and at least 500 more were injured in a stampede at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, Indonesia on Oct 1, 2022, which was prompted by the firing of tear gas by security officials
Three police officers and two match officials have been found guilty for their roles in the incident. Each was sentenced to between one to two-and-a-half years in prison

There was a time in a not-so-distant past when for a few hours every weekend, the city of Malang in Indonesia would appear deserted.

Virtually everyone in the hilly city of 800,000 people was either at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in the outskirts of Malang or glued to the television sets at home or at cafes and roadside food stalls, rooting for their once beloved football club, Arema FC.

The mood of the city would change depending on the outcome of each match.

Whenever the club won, supporters in Arema jerseys and other attributes would parade the city in their motorcycles and cars to celebrate their victories. Conversely, the mood of the city would turn gloomy and sombre whenever the club lost.

That all changed on Oct 1, 2022, when 135 people were killed in a stampede at the Kanjuruhan Stadium, making it the second deadliest football tragedy in the world.

“I haven’t watched a single (Arema) match since (the tragedy),” plantation owner Devi Athok Yulfitri told CNA, adding that many of his peers have also stopped seeing matches in person or on the small screen.

“It’s just too painful. Whenever we see Arema play, all we can think about are all the loved ones and friends we lost that night.”

IRONIC TWIST OF FATE
Mr Yulfitri used to be an Aremania, a nickname for die-hard Arema fans. Before the tragedy, he would attend almost every home and away match the club played.

So much was his love for the club, he would occasionally get into brawls with rival supporters, without caring if he ended up getting injured, arrested or killed.

“The only reasons I stopped (participating in brawls) were my two daughters,” the 44-year-old said. “Whenever they saw me trying to get into a fight, they would say ‘Daddy don’t, let’s just go home’.”

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-malang-football-stadium-stampede-safety-justice-reform-3804651

Hiroshima marks a-bomb anniversary, calls nuclear deterrence “folly”

[1/4] People pray in front of the cenotaph for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing, on the anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing, at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, western Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo on August 6, 2023. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS

Japan on Sunday marked the 78th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing on Hiroshima, where its mayor urged the abolition of nuclear weapons and called the Group of Seven leaders’ notion of nuclear deterrence a “folly”.

The day to commemorate the victims of the world’s first nuclear attack comes as Russia has raised the spectre of using nuclear weapons in its war with Ukraine.

It also comes as biopic “Oppenheimer”, chronicling the creation of the atomic bomb, has become a box-office hit in the United States. Some have criticised the film for largely ignoring the weapons’ destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – bombed three days later, on Aug. 9, 1945.

The film’s release in Japan has yet to be announced.

Also causing controversy in Japan, the distributor of “Barbie”, a blockbuster released on the same day as “Oppenheimer”, latched on to fan-produced “Barbenheimer” memes that depicted the actors in the title roles alongside images of nuclear blasts.

Hiroshima was in the spotlight in May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hosted a G7 summit in the western city, his home constituency. G7 leaders issued a statement expressing their commitment to achieving disarmament but said that as long as nuclear weapons existed, they should serve to deter aggression and prevent war.

On Sunday, a peace bell tolled at 8:15 a.m. (2315 GMT on Saturday), the time the bomb was dropped. About 50,000 participants in the outdoor memorial ceremony including ageing survivors observed a moment of silence, with the summer heat hitting 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit)

“Leaders around the world must confront the reality that nuclear threats now being voiced by certain policymakers reveal the folly of nuclear deterrence theory,” Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said at the ceremony, also attended by Kishida.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hiroshima-marks-a-bomb-anniversary-calls-nuclear-deterrence-folly-2023-08-06/

Article 370 Abrogation: Amarnath Yatra Suspended Today, PDP ‘Denied’ Permission For Event On Anniversary

The Amarnath Yatra will remain suspended from the Jammu base camp today while the PDP stated that it was denied permission to hold an event to mark the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370.

File Photo: Supporters of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti protest against the abrogation of Article 370 in Srinagar. ( Image Source : Getty Images )

Jammu-Kashmir will observe the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 on Saturday and in view of the same, security has reportedly been beefed up in Jammu while the Amarnath Yatra will remain suspended from the Jammu base camp today. On August 5, 2019, the Union government abrogated provisions of Article 370 and Article 35 A of the Constitution, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union territories — Jammu and Kashmir (with a legislature) and Ladakh.

The Amarnath Yatra will remain suspended on Saturday, Jammu Deputy Commissioner Avny Lavasa told news agency PTI without citing a reason for it. However, the PTI report mentioned sources as informing that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure in view of the anniversary. They also said that security has been beefed up in Jammu.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday stated that the Srinagar administration has denied the party permission to hold an event to mark the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti also claimed that leaders of her party were being detained.

“Why is @JmuKmrPolice detaining PDP leaders on the eve of 5th August? Arif Laigroo has been taken by the police in this video. BJP is given a free run to carry out the tamasha of celebrating illegal abrogation of Article 370 in Srinagar. All this is being done to hoodwink the public opinion in the country. Just goes on to expose the facade of normalcy – a fake narrative to justify their illegal actions,” Mehbooba said in a tweet as she posted the video which purportedly shows a PDP leader being taken away in a police vehicle.

Source: https://news.abplive.com/news/india/article-370-abrogation-in-jammu-kashmir-amarnath-yatra-suspended-on-4th-anniversary-pdp-denied-permission-for-party-event-1620694