Present By Aremania Representatives, Bonek, The Jak, To Bobotoh, Suporters In Ambon Hold Joint Prayers For Victims Of Tragedy Kanjuruhan

AMBON - As many as 90 people from various representatives of Indonesian football supporters, Ambon Branch, held a prayer and joint remembrance to pray for the death toll in the Tragedy of the Malang Regency Office Stadium, East Java, at Pattimura Park Ambon.

Representatives of supporters from a number of Indonesian football clubs, namely Arema FC (Aremania), PSM Makassar (The Macz Man), Persija Jakarta (JakMania), Persebaya Surabaya (Bonek), Persib Bandung (Bobotoh), Persela Lamongan (LA Mania), and Madura United (K-Conk) were late in the joint prayer activity.

There were approximately 90 people who participated in this joint prayer event, not only from Aremania, but from JakMania, Jakarta friends, Bandung, Madura, Makassar, all those in Ambon gathered. Thank God there were all of them," said the founder of the Indonesian supporters' association in the Ambon Sam Arif region, quoted by Antara, Sunday, October 9.

He said that this joint prayer activity is expected to be carried out every year. According to him, this is also a carrier of peace among Indonesian football fans.

"We from Aremania Ambon, have made peace from the beginning. There has never been a problem, from outside, hopefully it can be peaceful like us here," he said.

He admitted that from the joint prayer title event for the victims of Kanjuruhan, it is also hoped that it will encourage a thorough investigation of the problems that occurred in early October 2022 at the Kanjuruhan Stadium.

"I just want to make an event like this, we also encourage a complete investigation. We are seeking justice from the problem in Kanjuruhan yesterday. Because many of our brothers died there," said Arif.

The procession of the prayer event together with each lit a candle and joined in singing the song "National" Arema in memory of the victims at the Kanjuruhan Stadium.

The chaos began when Aremania entered the field after the match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya with a final score of 2-3 for Persebaya.

The commotion grew where a number of flares were thrown, including other objects. Joint security officers from the police and the TNI tried to dispel the supporters.

With the number of security officers not comparable to the thousands of Arema FC supporters, officers fired tear gas at the field of the match as well as into the stands. The tear gas shot left many supporters fainting and difficulty breathing.

The number of supporters who fainted triggered panic in the stadium. The number of supporters who need medical assistance is not comparable to the number of medical personnel who were alerted at the Kanjuruhan Stadium.

Based on the latest information from the East Java Provincial Government Health Office as of Saturday, October 8 at 08.00 WIB, the overall victims of the Kanjuruhan Tragedy reached 704 people, with details of 131 victims who died, 550 lightly injured, 23 seriously injured, and 37 victims still undergoing treatment at the hospital.