Politician calls on China to withhold aid to Jakarta
Politician calls on China to withhold aid to Jakarta
HONG KONG (AP): A prominent politician yesterday urged China
to withhold an aid package it has promised to Indonesia until
those responsible for May violence against ethnic Chinese are
apprehended.
Christine Loh of the Citizens Party urged Beijing to impose
sanctions and withhold the US$ 3 million in medicine and US$200
million in export credits to Indonesia until rioters who singled
out ethnic Chinese are punished.
Outrage over the May attacks has galvanized ethnic Chinese
worldwide, sparking protests outside Indonesia's representative
offices abroad.
Following repeated calls to punish the rioters, Beijing
announced the aid package on Saturday to help prevent the
economic recession spinning into a public health crisis. Doctors
warn Indonesia's economic recession - the worst in 30 years -
could bring new outbreaks of disease with millions of newly poor
unable to afford basic medicines.
In a petition presented to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Loh also called for an independent UN investigation into
the looting of Chinese-owned businesses and rape of ethnic
Chinese women.
"We believe that the Indonesian government must take immediate
measures to protect the rights of Chinese Indonesians," the
petition said.
Many victims of the May riots which toppled President Soeharto
were ethnic Chinese, targeted for their relative wealth and made
scapegoats for Indonesia's economic disaster. Hundreds of Chinese
homes and business were attacked and burned by rampaging mobs.
About 1,200 people are estimated to have been killed in the
rioting. Women's rights groups estimate that at least 160 women
and girls were raped.
Jakarta's announcement of heightened security during
Indonesia's Independence Day on Aug. 17 has done little to dispel
rumors of possible renewed attacks against the ethnic Chinese.
Loh urged the Hong Kong government to extend more flexible
immigration laws to Chinese Indonesians wishing to stay in Hong
Kong "until they feel safe and free" to return to Indonesia.
On Monday, more than 100 students defied a police ban and
gathered outside Indonesia's embassy in Beijing. Separately, a
group of Chinese women put up placards in a hotel to accusing the
Chinese government of reacting faintheartedly to the atrocities.
Indonesian President B.J. Habibie reportedly has ordered
Indonesian officials to ask intelligence officers from China,
Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United States to take part in an
official investigation into the rapes.