Retailers still remember May tragedy five years later<\/p>\n
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Five years ago, Ibu Linda and her four daughters did not leave
\ntheir home throughout the horrifying incidents of the May riots
\nthat triggered the downfall of despot Soeharto, especially after
\nshe had heard that some Chinese women had been raped.<\/p>\n
"We stayed home for days and constantly watched television,
\npraying that nothing horrible would ever happen to us," she said.<\/p>\n
She added that her electronics shop never crossed her mind,
\nbecause the family's safety was the only priority at that time.<\/p>\n
She later found out that the electronics shop had been looted,
\nleaving her with nothing.<\/p>\n
Ibu Linda was among the hundreds of Chinese-Indonesian
\nshopkeepers working in the city's largest retail center of
\nGlodok, West Jakarta, whose businesses were attacked by mobs as
\nresentment against Indonesians of Chinese descent escalated
\nduring the riots of May 13 and May 14, 1998.<\/p>\n
The May Tragedy, as it was widely known, brought about the
\nfall of Soeharto's 32-year dictatorship, which drove the country
\ninto both euphoria and violence.<\/p>\n
The shooting of four Trisakti University students on May 12
\nignited riots nationwide, particularly in the capital.<\/p>\n
The riots mostly targeted the Chinese-Indonesian ethnic group,
\nas many native Indonesians believed they had unfairly dominated
\nthe country's economy.<\/p>\n
"As soon as we heard that a mob had burned a gas station in
\nGrogol, near Trisakti University in West Jakarta, the Glodok
\nretail center closed," explained Ngadimin, a retailer, of what
\nhappened in May 1998.<\/p>\n
Ngadimin, who is of Chinese descent, said that he and many
\nother vendors immediately closed their shops and left Glodok to
\ntake refuge at home.<\/p>\n
He found out the next day on television that his shop and many
\nothers that were located on the ground floor of the retail center
\nhad been robbed.<\/p>\n
"We did not dare return to the place for over a week," he
\nsaid. When he finally went to his store, all that was left of his
\nshop was shattered glass from the display window.<\/p>\n
"For about seven days straight, we had been hearing horrible
\nstories, especially about the rape of Chinese women.<\/p>\n
"I just couldn't imagine it," Ngadimin added.<\/p>\n
During the authoritarian rule of Soeharto, the Chinese were
\nrestricted from the political arena because of communism. Part of
\nSoeharto's strategy to oust Indonesia's first president Sukarno,
\nwas to blame Chinese Communists for allegedly assisting the
\nIndonesian Communist Party (PKI) in their attempt to take over
\nthe government in 1965.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's economic strategy was also limited to only a
\nhandful of close contacts, generally relatives, who were given
\nopportunities in the country's most important business sectors.<\/p>\n
It was during this time that several Chinese-Indonesian
\nbusinessmen took advantage of the situation to bribe their way
\ninto becoming Soeharto's economic aides, to amass great personal
\nwealth and stature while enjoying Soeharto's protection.<\/p>\n
This, in turn, heightened the resentment against Chinese-
\nIndonesians, which spread to encompass all Chinese-Indonesians,
\neven those in the middle and lower-middle classes.<\/p>\n
As riots spread leading up to the fall of the New Order
\nregime, the Chinese and their assets became a prime and easy
\ntarget of prejudice, and the government, law enforcers and law
\npractitioners often displayed a lack of political commitment to
\nprotect their rights.<\/p>\n
The climax came in 1998, after the country had just been hit
\nby the economic crisis, and some 5,000 homes, offices, shops and
\nmalls, mostly belonging to Chinese-Indonesians, were reportedly
\nlooted and burned. The total amount of losses has been estimated
\nat about Rp 2.5 trillion (US$280 million).<\/p>\n
"I lost everything in 1998. Even now, I am cautious of what
\nmay happen in the future, especially because the upcoming general
\nelections will be held next year," said Alex, another electronics
\nvendor.<\/p>\n
Alex said that he and fellow retailers could not plan for any
\ncontingencies, since insurance companies refused to insure his
\ngoods, due to the events of the May Tragedy.<\/p>\n
"For centuries, my family has been in the trading business --
\nit is all we know. For now, we can only pray that history will
\nnot repeat itself," he said.<\/p>",
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