The nation should embrace universal humanity

The nation should embrace universal humanity

By Frans Winarta

JAKARTA (JP): The May 12 fatal shooting of four Trisakti
University students, allegedly carried out by the security
forces, marks a black day in the history of modern Indonesia. The
tragic deaths of students who were demanding democratic reform
occurred in conjunction with a wider process of democratization
beginning in 1990 amid global trends favoring democratic
institutions and respect for human rights and the rule of law.

It is ironic that such a peaceful student demonstration was
met with force and live bullets. Whatever the justification
offered by the authorities for the loss of life, it is clear the
right to life has been sacrificed to serve political interests of
an authoritarian regime.

The shootings were only the beginning of a tragedy as the
masses burned and looted Chinese-Indonesian commercial
establishments and homes the following days.

More than 1,200 people died as a result of the May 14-May 16
riots. Throughout this period, there was no evidence that the
security forces made any serious effort to stop it. Once again,
the ethnic Chinese have been victimized by the masses who were
incited to riots in what smacked of racism to serve the interests
of some political elites.

The New Order regime which accused China of abetting the
attempted communist coup in 1965 has persistently fanned the
flames of racial sentiment for political gain.

Since then, Chinese schools have been closed, written Chinese
characters banned, spoken Chinese outlawed and Chinese cultural
expressions prohibited so that the Indonesian people have
developed the perception that everything relating to the Chinese
is bad and should be avoided.

The New Order regime under Soeharto promoted anti-Chinese
policies in which ethnic Chinese-Indonesians were not given
opportunities for political expression -- the absence of ethnic
Chinese ministers in the six Soeharto cabinets -- was clear
evidence.

The House of Representatives (DPR) almost never had ethnic
Chinese members nor the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Also no ethnic Chinese leaders were permitted to participate in
political activities in the political parties or Golkar with the
exception of Kwik Kian Gie of the Indonesian Democratic Party. It
is clear the New Order regime practiced a policy of devide et
impera originally implemented by the Netherlands East Indies
colonial government.

The appointment of Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, a longtime Soeharto
associate who is Chinese-Indonesian, as minister of trade and
industry in the Seventh Development Cabinet was not so much the
voluntary option of the New Order regime as a panic response by a
government facing a wave of reform.

The government's policy of resisting the emergence of
opposition parties and forces was rejected decisively by
thousands of students throughout the country. Simultaneously and
spontaneously, there emerged opposition to the New Order regime
and a demand that Soeharto step down.

These divisive politic tactics were so extensive that they
embraced numerous other conflicts such as Moslem versus non-
Moslem, indigenous people versus nonindigenous people,
conglomerates versus small and middle level entrepreneurs,
military versus civilians and Old Order versus New Order.

Additionally, lawyers' organizations were splintered into weak
components, labor organizations constrained, journalists'
organizations prohibited and any organization which managed to
gather strength was compromised through co-option, intrigues,
intimidation and pressure.

The most vivid example of this was the toppling of the
Indonesian Democratic Party's leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, who
was undermined and virtually driven from the formal political
arena. The opposition has been inappropriately treated like an
enemy.

Lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution's statement before a DPR session
on May 14 contained much truth when he said that if the
government could not protect its own people, this country might
as well be dissolved because it was not functioning in accordance
with the principles set out by its founding fathers. The purpose
of the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia, the founding
fathers said, was to protect all citizens without exception.

Ironically, shortly after this statement was made, Tanah
Tinggi in Central Jakarta and other areas were torched by the
raging masses.

That people are different from birth is a fact of life. Love
for one's own kind, language, culture, customs and traditions,
soil and nationality is a worthy right of every person. However,
in the end, we all must recognize a universal humanity. To
accentuate the differences or to promote one as better than the
other is inhumane and at odds with basic human rights.

Much more pronounced than the differences are the similarities
shared by all people. Among these are the basic human rights that
cannot be diminished, reduced, obstructed or taken away by the
authority, the most authoritative regime or the most dominant
majority of the most repressive military regime.

The writer is a lawyer based in Jakarta.