| Letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Medan, June 3rd 1998
Office of the United Nations High
Dear Sirs,
Subject:
We are minorities ethnic Chinese in Indonesia would like you
to set up a Working Group on Minority ethnic Chinese in Indonesia,
because our human rights have been violated in Indonesia. Violations
include: Freedom from fear; Right to life; Right to property;
right for integrity and dignity of the person.
We are constantly in alert situation because anytime our life
would be in danger as the indigenous would come to loot, burn
our properties and raping our daughter. The government of Indonesia
doesn't protect us as the current riots shown. The army were very
late to show up, and even if they showed up they just watching
and let the indigenous looting the
chinese properties. On many cases, army just told the looter:"
just take the goods, don't kill".
On press release dated June 2nd 1998, Indonesian National Human
Rights Committee ( KOMNAS HAM) provided the statement that on
the date of the attack, there wasn't a serious attempt from the
army to prevent the riot spread over. The army action only after
the attack had finished. From the monitoring and report to them,
they come to the conclusion there were organized faction who started
the looting and burning. For complete of the press release, kindly
contact KOMNAS HAM or the Kompas news paper or see INDO CHAOS
website
Account of the riots you may read it from Indonesia newspaper
or magazines like Time, Newsweek.
The most vivid one was written by Christianto Wibisono(he is a
reputable economist and an
ethnic Chinese) in Suara Pembaruan daily dated June1,1998 under
the heading: CHRISTIAN
WIBISONO ANALYSIS, B.C.A. AND ETHNIC CHINESE TRAGEDY
He described the scene as very UN-HUMAN, and it is a conspiracy
by Suharto regime. His daughter and 2 of his grandsons who were
only one and half year's old and 2 months attacked by the indigenous.
He could say that it's a conspiracy because the looting and burning
were very organized.
From several witness accounts, there were professionals came
by trucks, then using the tools opened the iron doors of the chinese
properties. They did it from one door to the next. After opening,
the looter who were the indigenous which lived nearby came taking
the goods and ALL the belongings, they left nothing behind not
even a spoon, then burning the houses. Nobody try to stop them
not even the police or army. All the scene could be checked in
the video taken by local or international TV stations. The looter
only attacked ethnic chinese
properties. If in front of the house there were signed that it
was belong to indigenous ( such as : wording PRIBUMI = indigenous,
or the Islamic symbol ) they will not attack.
More than 5000 chinese properties burned during the two days action
on 13 and 14 May 1998. Similar attacked also took place in severals
towns of North Sumatra ( i.e. Medan, Tebing Tinggi, Lubuk Pakam,
etc and the most recent one in Tanjung Balai which happened even
after one week Suharto stepped down. In Tanjung Balai, more than
100 Ethnic chinese
shops and houses being looted and burned. For the unfortunate
ethnic chinese girl which didn't have time to run, they would
be raped. Similar attack also happened on March in several outskirt
of Jakarta (Java island).
To give you a more dramatic view, a People Representative of
Indonesia ( M.P.R) Mr. Usman Lubis in May 25 1998 press conference
in Medan ( the third largest city ) calling for government to
register those ethnic chinese who had been exodus to foreign countries
during
the riot. According to him, they had to be registered because
those who left the country not showing nationalism and loving
to the country. He even called for evoking the their business
license and gave to indigenous.
As our human rights had been violated, we urge you :
2. Condemning the government of Indonesia and asking them to apologize
for the ethnic chinese suffering.
3. Working together with UN in Indonesia and Indonesian Human
Rights Committee to improve the ethnic chinese human rights in
Indonesia.
Your attention is highly appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Reformist for Ethnic Chinese human rights in Indonesia (RECHRI)
Xpose@mailexcite.com
PS: we are unable to prevail our original names for the safety
of our life. Hope you could understand.
c.c. |