Committee to investigate May rapes to be set up

Committee to investigate May rapes to be set up

JAKARTA (JP): President B.J. Habibie will next week officially
establish a committee with a short term mission to investigate
the alleged rape of women during and after the May riots across
the country.

State Minister for Women's Affairs Tutty Alawiyah said the
National Committee Against Violence Toward Women would be fully
independent and would include representatives of non-governmental
organizations and the country's most prominent advocates of
women's rights in its ranks.

The formation of the committee comes as the result of the
President's meeting with 23 female activists on Tuesday, during
which he was urged to take action against the rape cases.

"The committee will answer directly to the President," Tutty
said after meeting with Habibie yesterday.

Also present during the meeting were Coordinating Minister for
People's Welfare and Poverty Alleviation Haryono Suyono, Minister
of Social Services Justika Sjarifudin Baharsjah and
Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung.

Tutty said she hoped that senior psychologist Saparinah Sadli
would chair the committee because she was the person most capable
of leading such an important investigation.

"Saparinah is in Bogor now... I will contact her this evening.
I hope she says yes," Tutty said later at her office.

The committee itself will operate along similar lines to the
National Commission on Human Rights.

However unlike the human rights commission, the committee will
not be financially dependent on the government, said Tutty.

"The government wants to give the committee the widest
possible opportunity," Tutty remarked, adding that the
committee's main focus would be on helping abused women.

Tutty said she would soon contact the activists who had been
selected to sit on the committee, indicating that it would
consist of at least 25 people.

Habibie's wife Hasri Ainun Besari will be an advisor to the
committee.

During a 2.5 hour meeting with Habibie, the activists
presented him with "clear and authentic" evidence of the assaults
which took place during the riots. Later in the evening, Habibie
made a televised statement condemning the rapes.

Ita Nadia from Kalyanamitra told the President that 168 women,
mostly of Chinese descent, were raped. One hundred and fifty two
of the victims were from Jakarta and the remainder were residents
of Solo, Surabaya, Palembang and Medan.

Twenty of the women died after being raped.

Ministers also acknowledged yesterday that the government had
done little to help the families of more than 1,000 people who
were burned alive when fires raced through shopping centers and
other buildings during the rioting.

"The subject was not discussed during our meeting," Haryono
said. (prb/ylt)