'People just want to forget the May riots'

The May 1998 riots remain a bitter memory for the victims of that tragedy. Some people who lost family members in the violence are still seeking justice, while others are simply trying to forget the tragedy. The Jakarta Post spoke with several people about the issue.

Gito Sarkawi, 28, is a personnel manager at a textile factory in Kapuk Kamal, North Jakarta. He lives in Pedongkelan, West Jakarta:

If Indonesia really wants to be a great nation, then it must never forget the 1998 May tragedy. It must be thoroughly investigated and those responsible for any human rights violations that occurred must be tried and prosecuted.

However, if it is true that those responsible are the same people now in power, or who will be in power, then a search for truth and justice will be impossible.

All we will be able to do is dream of justice, like all we can do is just dream of ever being a civilized nation.

Fajar Wicaksono, 21, is an economics student at Atma Jaya University in Central Jakarta. He lives with his parents and sister in Ciledug, South Jakarta:

I don't really understand what happened in the May 1998 riots. At the time, I was still in high school and I wasn't interested in those kinds of things.

There is not much going on at my campus to commemorate the event this year. Students used to show a documentary to commemorate the event, but this year there is nothing. Only students from Trisakti still hold demonstrations.

I think, considering the number of victims and families hurt by the event, that many people choose not to think about it any more. They prefer not to discuss it and just to forget it.

-- The Jakarta Post