Govt starts fresh investigation into May 1998 riots

Govt starts fresh investigation into May 1998 riots

JAKARTA (JP): Almost two years after the May 1998 riots,
government officials said on Thursday it was starting a new
investigation, as past inquiries had uncovered scant evidence to
support claims of sexual violence.

Government officials admitted the earlier investigation into
the riots, which concluded that at least 66 women were raped, was
based on secondhand information.

The team was apparently only able to gather details from
"third party informants" who themselves were not witnesses to the
events.

State Minister of the Empowerment of Women Khofifah Indar
Parawansa and Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, who headed the
earlier investigation, revealed the team had been unable to
interview a single victim of the alleged rapes.

"We are facing difficulties because we cannot find actual
victims or witnesses," Khofifah said.

Jakarta and several major cities were rocked in mid-May 1998
by severe riots following the shooting of four Trisakti
University students.

The riots culminated in mass demonstrations which led to
president Soeharto's resignation on May 21.

In the weeks that followed there were numerous claims of rapes
and abuses of Chinese-Indonesian women. These claims prompted a
mass exodus of many ethnic Chinese abroad.

The initial government-appointed team -- known as TGPF and
comprising members of the government, Armed Forces and
nongovernmental organizations -- to investigate the mid-May riots
in Jakarta and other cities reported in November 1998 that 66
women, mostly Chinese-Indonesians, were raped.

The team's report, whose preparation was reportedly marked by
dissent among team members, linked the riots to an alleged
conspiracy between various parties seeking to create an emergency
situation which would justify the introduction of "extra-
constitutional powers."

Speaking after a coordinating meeting, which was also attended
by Minister of Home Affairs Surjadi Soedirdja and State Minister
of Human Rights Affairs Hasballah M. Saad, Marzuki said the team
was hopeful that witnesses would now come forward as the
political climate was more conducive.

"The government is reopening investigations and invites the
general public to provide information, directly or indirectly, to
the Office of the State Minister of the Empowerment of Women or
to the National Police," Attorney General Marzuki Darusman told
reporters.

He pledged that the government would take transparent and
concrete legal measures to resolve the case.

Khofifah appealed for public cooperation, particularly from
victims and witnesses, if the case was ever to be resolved.

"Only with their testimony can we bring cases to justice," she
said.

"I will be very glad if someone can come and arrange a private
meeting between myself and the victims," she added.

One of the first steps undertaken would be for Khofifah and
police chief of detectives Maj. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar to requestion
the third party "informants", which included nongovernmental
organizations.

As an overall effort to protect witnesses and victims who come
forward with testimony, the government will draft a law on their
protection.

"We will develop and even amend the criminal code to insert
articles on sexual abuses and violence," Marzuki said.

Khofifah added that the establishment of a rehabilitation
program for victims of sexual abuse was under the responsibility
of her office, the National Police and the Ministry of Health.

"We guarantee these victims will receive good treatment, if
only if they would come forward," she added. (04)