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.