Eleven years ago this month, Indonesia witnessed a barbaric,

cruel, inhuman and merciless pogrom committed against its

Chinese minority that was carefully and deliberately planned
and orchestrated by government and military leaders.

The same country today is busily trying to teach others the

supposedly real meanings of human rights. They even deemed
others as incompetent to be regarded as civilised nations.

Indonesia's 1998 attacks against its minority were not an

isolated incident that was sparked by currency speculators.

Previously, the country had seen such incidents happening

on and off, like clockwork, in many parts of the country,
including in urban areas like Medan and in remote towns
in the rural interior. Minority Chinese were referred to
as 'aliens' and as such, not regarded as rightful citizens.

Starting from the late 1950s and into the 1960s, minority
Chinese were the focus of many discriminations, riots and
murders. The fact that the Chinese were among the most
submissive of the many minorities in the republic did little
to assuage the constant anger and hatred directed against them.

In 1959, the Indonesian government passed a law 'outlawing'

so-called aliens from doing or carrying out business or trade
in rural areas of the country.( BTW, this was not the first one).
The passing of this law resulted in sporadic but widespread
anti-Chinese violence that included much looting and arson.

Much of the violence took place on the main island of Java.

After murders, including 'executions' began to be carried out
for 'failing' to obey the law, many people of Chinese descent
fled to other parts of the republic (Medan and elesewhere in
Sumatra). However, about 100,000 decided to leave everthing
behind and flee the country altogether and the Chinese govern-
ment actually sent ships to pick them up. Transport ships, not
naval carrier taskforce fleets.

In 1965, an attempted but unsuccessful coup staged by the PKI

gave the Indonesian army the chance to seize power from the then
prevailing government in Jakarta. Upon seizing power, the army
generals started looking for scapegoats to justify their actions,
and in the process, about 1 million to 1.5 million people lost
their lives. Many of them were Chinese minorities, with entire
families massacred right inside their own homes.

The one general who emerged from the power grab was Suharto,
and he had the active and participative support of the US.
The American embassy in Jakarta supplied him with a long list
of names, allegedly 'members' of the PKI and these had to be
eliminated. The process of 'eliminating' or 'cleaning' Indonesia
of these undesirable elements dragged on until mid-1966.

Therefore, from late 1965 to mid-1966, Indonesia was involved

in an unprecedented bloodbath, almost in every sense of the word.

So much for teaching others about 'human rights'.

Wholesale slaughters were carried out, especially in the late
evenings (nights) and their bodies were disposed of in drains
and rivers. Anyone could be accused of being 'PKI' and that was
enough for any innocent person to embrace death. There was no law,
as the only law was the one sanctioned by the military: eliminate
the PKI and their alleged 'supporters'.

The killings were concentrated in Java, but other areas were also
affected but on a relatively smaller scale. Sumatra and Kalimantan
also saw anti-Chinese violence incuding acts committed by local
inhabitants previously unaffected by racial sentiments. At the
end of the mindless bloodletting, the Chinese minority had put
in its 'share' of about one third or more of the fatalities.

In 1968 Suharto became the officially elected President. He was

to stay in power for the next thirty years. A man whose hands
were fully stained with the blood of innocent people. He put
his relatives and close supporters in important posts in his
government as well as in the army and that was to spell big
trouble for the minorities in the republic in the future.

In 1997 the Asian currencies got into a deep financial mess

due to reckless speculative activities and the Asian countries
started experiencing very severe economic chaos. There was big
trouble in the streets and loud noised were made for leaders to
step down. By the beginning of 1998 the currency was almost
worth next to nothing.

In May 1998 students demonstrated in the streets of Jakarta

against the government. Shots were fired and one or two students
were killed. Their funerals later were used as the excuse to
initiate a riot with people attacking the police and setting
vehicles and buildings ablaze. At almost the same time, or just
very shortly afterward, elite Indonesian army soldiers spread
the word to turn the attack against the government into one
targeting the Chinese minority.

Chinese-owned shops and businesses were looted and set on fire.

At the same time, Indonesian commandos from the unit led by the
President's son-in-law carried out attacks against women in an
apparently well-organised operation and the damage was done.

Riots specifically targeting Minority Chinese quickly spread to

other parts of the country for the next two days. The acts did
not die afterward but were still carried out much later. There
were stories that some people were responsible for unexplained
'unnatural happenings' ( believed to be the work of the army)
and many innocent people were set alight and burned to death.
Many were killed solely due to their skin colour. Chinese-owned
houses were burned to the ground on the slightest excuse, be it
a road accident or a careless stare. More than a thousand people
lost their lives. Some fled to Singapore and these were targeted
by the Indonesian authorities who confiscated all their money
they had with them in forced body searches.

A first hand account of the horrors can be found in many papers

of the time, including an NST article of June 23 1998 page 19.
The article listed the number killed at 1,188 at the minimum.
A quote from the article: '.. the Chinese - who are the most
vulnerable - have become an object or victim.'

The Chinese have certainly suffered very much more than anyone
could ever ask from them and they mostly submitted meekly to
their tormentors most of the time and fled when they could no
longer bear it. There were no massed protests and no objections
to the organised discriminations carried out against them.

Yet Indonesia is quick to lecture others about 'democracy' and

'human rights'. People need to be aware that even today, many
anti-Chinese regulations are still in place in that republic.
People of Chinese descent still can be ruled ineligible for
social aid and many other forms of discriminations are still
practised today. Even as the Indonesian government tries to
teach others a thing or two about enlightenment. Many other
societies and nations with very peaceful records are today
most reluctant to lecture others. Those who frequently violate
the innocent and do harm most of the time are rather quick to
'teach' others. Sheer undiluted hypocrisy. The same over here.