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.