Six years after, May 1998 tragedy still unresolved<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After six years, three governments and two independent
\ninvestigations, the May 1998 riots remain unfinished business for
\nthe citizens of this nation.<\/p>\n
The National Commission on Human Rights has found indications
\nof systematic gross human rights violations in the tragedy, which
\ntook place between May 13 and May 15 of that year and recommended
\nan ad hoc human rights trial, but families of the victims have
\nbeen kept waiting for the perpetrators of the crimes to be
\nbrought to justice.<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives during the current Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri administration declared the riots just \"ordinary
\ncrimes\".<\/p>\n
But, I Ketut Murwati, the director of human rights violations
\ncases at the Attorney General's Office, said his office was
\nwaiting for new evidence from the rights body's team tasked with
\ninvestigating military and police officers for their alleged role
\nin the tragedy.<\/p>\n
The 16-member independent team set up by the rights body in
\nMarch 2003 was not able to get the suspects to respond to
\nmultiple summonses, in order to formally recommend that the
\ngovernment set up an ad hoc human rights tribunal in line with
\nLaw No. 26\/2000 on human rights.<\/p>\n
According to the law, all suspects can be summoned by the team
\nif the House proposes the establishment of an ad hoc tribunal
\nwhich must be endorsed by the government.<\/p>\n
Jakarta turned into a giant battle field when riots paralyzed
\nthe capital city and many other cities such as Medan, Palembang,
\nSurakarta and Surabaya. Thousands of people vandalized mostly
\nChinese-Indonesian-owned buildings and looted shopping malls.<\/p>\n
More than 1,000 people were killed and more than 60 women and
\ngirls, mostly Chinese-Indonesians, were victims of gang rapes and
\nother sexual violence during those three days of bloodshed, arson
\nand turmoil.<\/p>\n
The riots were precipitated by the shooting of four Trisakti
\nUniversity students on the afternoon of May 12.<\/p>\n
A joint fact-finding team set up by the government alleged
\nthat the riots were part of a scenario engineered by former
\npresident Soeharto's son-in-law Prabowo Subianto, then the Army's
\nStrategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) chief and most recently a
\nGolkar Party presidential candidate before he lost the
\nnomination, in his attempt to have martial law declared, which
\nwould allow him to take power amidst the national leadership
\ncrisis that ended with Soeharto's resignation on May 21.<\/p>\n
To this day, no legal action has been taken against Prabowo
\nover his alleged roles in the tragedy, including orders to abduct
\nand \"disappear\" many prodemocracy activists in 1997 and 1998, and
\nhis secret meeting with civilian figures at the Kostrad
\nheadquarters when the tension was at its peak on May 14.<\/p>\n
Both the government's fact-finding team (TGPF) and the rights
\nbody's team are of the same opinion that the riots involved
\nintelligence personnel and that someone had hired the rioters. At
\nthe very least, they were grave crimes of omission as some
\nmembers of the security forces were ordered back to their
\nbarracks and the security officials allowed the chaos to continue
\nunabated.<\/p>\n
The rights body's investigation team said current Golkar
\npresidential candidate Gen. (ret) Wiranto, then the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) chief, Prabowo and the Democrats' Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono, then the TNI chief of territorial affairs, were three
\nof dozens of military and police officers who were responsible
\nfor security at that time.<\/p>\n
The team's many questions remain unanswered, particularly as
\nto why Wiranto, Prabowo and many other generals went to Malang,
\nEast Java, to attend a Kostrad ceremony, while Susilo met with
\nMuslim intellectual Nurcholish Madjid when the riots were
\nescalating.<\/p>\n
Wiranto has said that like the East Timor human rights case,
\nthe investigations are merely aimed at discrediting him and
\nsabotaging his presidential bid.<\/p>\n
In his book Wiranto's Notes: Witness to the Storm, Wiranto
\nshifts the blame elsewhere for the tragedy, saying he had asked
\nthen chief of National Police Gen. Dibyo Widodo, former chief
\nJakarta Military Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and former City
\nPolice chief Insp. Gen. Hamami Nata to take necessary measures to
\nrestore security and order, but apparently they did not.<\/p>\n
Wiranto has publicly declared that he must be innocent of any
\nwrongdoing in the May tragedy, otherwise Solahuddin Wahid who led
\nthe investigation into the case would not have chosen to become
\nhis running mate in the upcoming presidential election.<\/p>\n
Prabowo, in a book entitled Politik Huru-Hara Mei 1998 (The
\nPolitics Behind the May 1998 Riots) written by his close friend
\nFadli Zon, shifted the responsibility to Wiranto, who he says
\nnever answered phone calls on May 14.<\/p>\n
Maswadi Rauf, a professor of political science at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia said human rights abuses linked to the
\nmilitary in the past would remain unresolved if either Wiranto or
\nSusilo were to win the presidential election.<\/p>\n
Eye-box
\n.rm70<\/p>\n
Probes into the May 1998 tragedy
\n==========================================================================
\nInstitution Date Findings\/Suggestions Govt Response
\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------
\n1. TGPF July-Oct, 1998 - serious crimes by none<\/p>\n
omission<\/p>\n
- sexual violence<\/p>\n
- further investigation<\/p>\n
needed<\/p>\n
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
\n2. House (DPR) Jan-July 2002 - ordinary crimes none<\/p>\n
- violators must be tried<\/p>\n
in court
\n---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\n3. Komnas HAM March-Sept. 2003 - gross human rights none<\/p>\n
violations<\/p>\n
- establish<\/p>\n
an ad hoc rights<\/p>\n
tribunal
\n----------------------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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