Religious leaders slam 'racial' riots

JAKARTA (JP): Leaders of all the country's major religions have condemned the "racial" riots in Jakarta last month that left more than 1,000 people dead and called for an independent team to investigate what they termed "despicable and barbaric acts".

The leaders, who met at the residence of Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Abdurrahman Wahid in South Jakarta yesterday, said the May 13-May 14 riots were incited in an "organized and systematic" way by people who exploited existing racial and socioeconomic differences.

In a petition, the leaders urged the government "to take concrete steps to show its remorse toward this barbaric affair.

"We also call on the government, the authorities and anyone who feels compelled to uphold justice, to use all their power to terminate immediately all forms of behavior that try to divide the nation by exploiting differences.

"Today, it is happening to people of Chinese descent. Unless we eliminate this, it will happen to other ethnic groups."

The leaders said the government must use an independent team to investigate thoroughly and in a transparent manner those who allegedly incited and spread the hatred that led to the riots.

"They should be tried and punished so that this incident does not happen again."

President B.J. Habibie ordered the Armed Forces last week to look into allegations the riots were the work of an organized group.

Chief of the Jakarta Military Command Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said later that he found most of the riots were spontaneous, and believed the involvement of any organized group was sporadic and localized.

About 20 religious leaders signed the statement yesterday. Along with Abdurrahman, who heads the 30-million-strong Moslem organization, they included Sularso Sopater of the Indonesian Communion of Churches, Archbishop Julius Darmaatmadja, Putu Setia of the Indonesian Hindu Intellectuals Association and Paul Tahalele of the Communication Forum of Indonesian Christians.

Democracy leader Megawati Soekarnoputri cut the tumpeng, the traditional yellow rice cone, which she gave to Archbishop Darmaatmadja.

Most of the participants later traveled to Klender, East Jakarta, to pray outside the gutted Yogya department store building. More than 100 people, mostly looters, died in the building when they were trapped by fire during the riot.

The leaders said they so felt strongly about the racial basis of the riots that they were compelled to issue the statement.

"On the pretext that they were Chinese, they had their properties looted, their places of business destroyed, their bodies tortured, their lives taken away, and as if that was not enough, their women were harassed and even raped," the statement said.

"Out of despair and shame, some of the victims have since taken their own lives."

The looters were vulnerable to incitement because of their poverty, it said, and some subsequently lost their lives.

"One is born to an ethnic group; one does not choose one's ethnicity. It's a blessing from God that each person is born differently.

"Differences that exist are holy and are intended to make people work together, (in) mutually fulfilling and enriching (ways). They are not meant to pit one against another to make them enemies.

"Discrimination based on race, especially torture based on race, is an action that has degraded humanity and is against justice.

"The acts of violence against those who were born and raised in Indonesia, their country and motherland, have tarnished the image of Indonesia as a nation," the statement said.

The leaders also called on the security forces to ensure the safety of every citizen in the country. (byg/mds/emb)