Trust needed to end anti-Chinese violence

Ethnic Chinese have continued to be targeted in riots in several towns in Indonesia and Juwono Sudarsono, chairman of the Agency for the Communication of Comprehension of National Unity, who is also vice governor of the military's National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) think tank, discusses possible ways to end such violence.

Question: Local residents in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, and other towns in Java and Sulawesi rioted recently in protest at rises in the price of essential commodities, but why did shops owned by the ethnic Chinese become the target of their vandalism?

Juwono: As chairman of the Agency for the Communication of Comprehension of National Unity I feel very concerned because this type of victimization has occurred for many generations. When a Chinese trader is hoarding a commodity, for example, people tend to assume that all traders of Chinese descent are doing likewise and the Chinese therefore become the target of violence in a riot. In actual fact, the main reason for the price rises is poor distribution of the goods.

Ethnic Chinese often become targets of mass violence because they are weak and have no political power or representation. Unfortunately, there is no indigenous party who helps defend the rights of the Chinese minority. They are also targeted because the civic leadership of indigenous Indonesian organizations have failed to control their own members.

Q: How do you see such violence in terms of human rights?

J: There is an evidence that the most worst violations of human rights in Indonesia are arbitrary and unilateral actions carried out by members of society against each other, and not by the police, military or government. Civil rights are often violated during a times of hardship and ethnic Chinese generally become the victims.

Q: Do you think that scapegoating the ethnic Chinese has been engineered by a certain party to divert attention from the government's failure to overcome the current economic crisis?

J: It is not true. It is also dangerous and against the principles of our constitution. When we proclaimed independence in 1945, there were Chinese-Indonesians who were involved in formulating the Constitution (of 1945). The Chinese-Indonesians are committed to Indonesia as a nation state.

Q: Do you think that the fate of the ethnic Chinese can be improved if they are represented in the cabinet or in the House of Representatives?

J: Such representation does not guarantee that violence against the ethnic Chinese will end. The situation is very sensitive and no civic leadership, particularly in social and mass organizations, can fully control their members.

Q: Has the failure of civic leaders in stopping this violence been exacerbated by the lethargy of the state leaders in protecting the rights of minorities?

J: Yes. They are too busy with speeches and have no time for organizational consolidation at the grassroots level, which should receive a high priority. If you are a leader of an organization, you must be able to control your members.

Q: Some Chinese businesspeople, who now feel very insecure, have transferred large sums of their capital abroad. Who is in the wrong here?

J: It is a chicken and egg situation. Capital does not recognize state borders and they consider it necessary to move their savings abroad because they feel insecure.

Our task is now to redevelop a sense of well being and security within our country, so that all citizens can become stakeholders in the Indonesian society. If we can do that, then I am sure capital will return to Indonesia.

The indigenous majority and Chinese minority are mutually dependent. The majority cannot expel the Chinese minority because the minority, who are also Indonesian citizens, are strong. If the minority were expelled, the first to suffer would be the majority, the indigenous Indonesians.

Q: What measures should be taken to make the indigenous- non-indigenous assimilation program successful?

J: I think we can establish a really solid form of Indonesian citizenship through inter-marriage and integration in professional groups in a society based on merit and capability.

Government policy to protect the rights of citizens of Chinese descent would also help. Citizens of Chinese descent now face difficulties when they process citizenship documents. They are required to fill in a special form and sometimes must pay illegal fees. The bureaucracy must treat all Indonesians, including the Chinese, as citizens of Indonesia, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, color of skin, shape of eye and provincial identity.

Q: Do you see that the ethnic Chinese will continue to become targets of violence in the future?

J: In some cases it will be inevitable, simply because they are too far from the protection of the authorities. But I am sure such cases will be infrequent and that there will be no large scale violence. I still believe in the tolerance of the vast majority of Indonesians. (riz)