Citizenship certificates

In your article titled Stateless Chinese dream of basic rights on Oct. 6, 2002, it was heartening to see the Post challenge the stereotypes and discrimination faced by many ordinary Chinese- Indonesians.

This is extremely important because a more just and pluralistic society is a necessary precondition for a stable, strong and prosperous Indonesia.

As an addition to your article, I believe the legality of the ongoing practice of requiring Chinese-Indonesians to obtain citizenship certificates (SBKRI), often at great expense, should be more aggressively questioned by the media. As the Post's article rightly pointed out, Soeharto abolished the SBKRI requirement by presidential decree in 1996. This decree was strengthened when the Habibie government signed an international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1999.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid subsequently issued his own presidential decree to the same effect. Why, then, do mid-level bureaucrats still demand SBKRI certificates from Chinese- Indonesians who wish to obtain passports, enroll in some state universities, or qualify for bank loans? At the national and local levels, why are dozens of other discriminatory regulations allowed to remain in effect? These, to me, are questions that deserve more attention and I hope the Post will pursue them.

TODD CALLAHAN

Jakarta