Danger of racism lurks everywhere in the world

Danger of racism lurks everywhere in the world

By Ester I. Jusuf

This is the second of two articles on the roots of racism. The
first article appeared on Saturday.

JAKARTA (JP): After the 1740 massacre, the Vereenigde Oost-
Indische Compagnie (VOC or United East India Company)
administration issued an edict called passenstelsel. The edict
specified that every ethnic Chinese was required to hold a
special pass when traveling outside of the district where they
resided.

The introduction of this special pass enabled the colonial
administration to keep an eye on the social activities of ethnic
Chinese, prevent acculturation (to ensure that race-based
discrimination would remain) and ensure no economic, political
and social interaction between ethnic Chinese and the rest of the
population.

In addition to the passenstelsel, the VOC administration also
introduced wijkenstelsel, under which ethnic Chinese were
prohibited from residing in the center of the city, and were
therefore required to set up a ghetto in the form of a
residential Chinatown enclave.

During the New Order era, racial discrimination against ethnic
Chinese was considerable. The Soeharto administration openly
practiced discrimination against ethnic Chinese. Various
regulations (all in the form of presidential decrees, issued
directly or through the Cabinet) were drawn up to provide a
segregation line so that the discriminatory gap between ethnic
Chinese and people of other ethnic origins would remain.

These presidential decrees were made even when the New Order
administration made use of many ethnic Chinese in its capitalism
development program. This ethnic Chinese business network has
proven its dominance since the Dutch colonial period.

Besides, by using ethnic Chinese -- who needed protection from
waves of mass riots -- the Soeharto administration could feel
sure that the profits reaped from these businesses would not be
spent on financing activities carried out by opposition forces. A
racist sentiment was needed to secure the obedience of ethnic
Chinese to this administration. Racial riots also provided
legitimacy to the emphasis on the security approach, allowing the
Soeharto administration to strongly suppress the opposition.

The great number of victims of the massacre in the post-Sept.
30, 1965-putsch period deeply traumatized the ethnic Chinese, and
encouraged them to nurture a phobia of anything smacking of
politics.

This phobia was made more acute with the introduction of a
number of Soeharto administration political decisions that made
ethnic Chinese second-class citizens in terms of civil rights and
social, cultural and political matters. Take the residential
identification card (KTP), for example. There used to be a
special symbol on the card denoting that the holder was an ethnic
Chinese.

Ethnic Chinese were also excluded from the opportunity to join
the Army and they found it very difficult to join the civil
service -- two opportunities leading to positions of some
political clout.

Then there was a special intelligence agency assigned to deal
with "the Chinese problem" under the name of the Coordinating
Agency on Chinese Problems, a name that would give the impression
that the presence of ethnic Chinese in Indonesia was indeed a
problem. Worse still, there were at least 21 racist laws enforced
by the Indonesian government on ethnic Chinese. At this point, a
strongly racist policy was applied to ethnic Chinese.

Nevertheless, ethnic Chinese are not alone in experiencing
discriminatory treatment. There are also practices of racial
discrimination against other ethnic groups in other parts of
Indonesia. This is a problem that has arisen because of a higher
level of physical similarity between the ethnic groups suffering
discrimination and the ethnic group practicing this
discrimination. Ethnic clashes between the Dayak people and the
Madurese, for example, reflect this difficulty.

A problem like this was also known during the Nazi
administration in Germany. In fact, the victims of racism in
Germany were not only the Jews, but also the Gypsies. Like the
Jews, they had no native land and wandered to all corners of
Europe. But, unlike the Jews who were in search of a piece of
land to settle on, the Gypsies wandered and did not establish a
class-based society under capitalism.

Some people believe that the pursuit and murder of Gypsies was
only a diversion in the Nazi's application of racism against the
Jews and ultra-nationalist Aryans. The Gypsies, who could not be
categorized as Aryans, had to be eliminated in line with the
racial cleansing program (genocide) carried out by the fascists.
However, whether deliberately or not, they had undergone terror
brought about by the last self-defense mechanism of capitalism.

The same is true of the peoples in Irian Jaya, Aceh and East
Timor. Whether they realize it or not, everything they have gone
through is an excellent example explaining the meaning of racial
discrimination. According to the United Nations Convention on the
Abolition of Racial Discrimination, all forms of political,
economic, social and cultural discrimination solely because of
someone's ethnic or racial origin or his religious background may
be categorized as racial discrimination.

It is clear to us now that the danger of racism is lurking not
in one or two countries alone, but also in many countries in all
its different forms. Therefore, racism may be categorized as the
enemy of humanity. Undeniably, the danger of racism has damaged
the pillars of mankind's social life. Not a single religion
condones racism, because it is a denial of God's creation.

The writer is chairperson of the Standing Council of
Solidarity of the Motherland.