A lingering concern
A lingering concern
Almost three weeks have passed since some of the most ugly
rioting in the city's history rocked Jakarta. Yet, though a
semblance of normalcy has since descended, most of the city's
citizenry will find it difficult to say that the dust of those
two days of violence has settled. Many of the scars which the
violence, the looting and the burning have left on the city are
just too ugly to be easily forgotten.
The scorched skeletons of buildings that still stand scattered
across the city are tactile evidence of the span and the
destructive ferocity of those two days of violence. But while
material losses can be recovered and damage repaired, much harder
to mend is the psychological and emotional damage which the riots
inflicted on many of Jakarta's citizens.
In this context, deplorable is perhaps the only word fit to
describe the fact that practically nothing has been heard of the
progress that has been made in the investigations into the rapes
that are reported to have occurred during those two days of
violence. If the suspicions that have been widely aired are true,
those rapes, or most of them, were committed by the same
organized groups of individuals who are believed to have provoked
the burning and looting. The logical conclusion, if this were
true, would be that it should be easier for the authorities to
find the perpetrators of those crimes.
Yet, it seems that, so far, the authorities have come to a
dead end in their efforts to fulfill their promise to look into
matter. Not only the police, but also the military and the
minister of women's affairs have said that they have been unable
to collect the information they need to start their
investigation. Indeed, the official spokesmen say, not a single
report or complaint of rape has been received.
Yet, legal aid officers and women's assistance groups have, on
the basis of complaints received, reported that at least 100
women and girls, mostly Chinese-Indonesians, were assaulted
during the May incidents. These groups are still working hard,
doing their best to assist the victims and, if possible, to find
justice for the women.
It would be comforting under such circumstances to be able to
assume that the authorities are indeed doing their best to tackle
the case, and that the only thing standing in the way of finding
out the truth is the difficulty in finding evidence. After all,
proving a rape is never easy, even in the most "normal" of
circumstances. Furthermore, it is a difficulty that tends to
increase with the passage of time. Unfortunately, it is hard to
escape the impression that the authorities are not really serious
in their efforts to tackle this matter. Indeed, the authorities
appear to be disinclined to take even the charges of provocation
by organized groups seriously.
If rape charges are hard to prove though, claims of physical
assault and molestation should be easier to verify. For the sake
of establishing justice, we suggest that the authorities
cooperate with those independent civic organizations that have
spearheaded the efforts to provide assistance.
As things are at present, the authorities are having trouble
enough assuaging the public's suspicions that elements among them
were involved in the disappearances of activists and in the fatal
shooting of four Trisakti University students. The authorities
can ill afford to leave too many public irritants unresolved. The
government's credibility, along with it its authority, is at
stake.