Activists blast attacks against athnic Chinese<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES (AP): Hundreds of activists protesting attacks on
\nethnic Chinese in Indonesia this year packed sidewalks and
\nstreets Friday outside the Indonesian consulate in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Police blocked Wilshire Boulevard outside the consulate and
\nmonitored the estimated 500-person crowd, but reported no arrests
\nor problems, said Officer Mike Partain.<\/p>\n
Fifty to 75 officers were called to the scene where protesters
\nchanted \"stop the violence\" and carried signs.<\/p>\n
Fuliang Xiao, president of the Chinese Student and Scholar's
\nAssociation at the University of California, Los Angeles, said he
\nand event organizer Daniel Gu were allowed inside to meet with
\nthe consul general for about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
The consul general agreed to forward a letter detailing the
\nprotesters' concerns to the president of Indonesia, Xiao said.
\nThe consul general agreed to immediately deliver the letter, but
\nwas unsure when the protesters might get an answer, Xiao said.<\/p>\n
Phone calls by The Associated Press to the consulate went
\nunanswered. The protesters want President B.J. Habibie to
\ncondemn Indonesian rioters accused of raping an estimated 168
\nethnic Chinese women and girls during bloody May riots in Jakarta
\nand other cities.<\/p>\n
Similar protests were scheduled in Boston, Chicago, Houston,
\nToronto and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, nearly 40 US lawmakers urged President Bill Clinton
\nFriday to press President Habibie on the plight of that nation's
\nethnic Chinese minority, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
\"We urge you to make central to your administration's policy
\ntoward Indonesia the need for effective action by the Indonesian
\ngovernment to end all official discrimination against ethnic
\nChinese,\" Representative Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from
\nCalifornia, and 37 other lawmakers said in a letter to Clinton.<\/p>\n
Numerous reports have circulated about the failure of
\nIndonesia's military to protect the Chinese minority during that
\ncountry's political rioting and unrest in mid-May.<\/p>\n
Of specific concern to the lawmakers are reports that 168
\nethnic Chinese women and girls were raped in Jakarta and other
\ncities during the May 13-15 riots.<\/p>\n
The rapes were merely a \"broader pattern of political violence
\ntargeted against ethnic Chinese,\" said the lawmakers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/activists-blast-attacks-against-athnic-chinese-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}