Whitewashing the History of the May 1998 Riots

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Fadli Zon dismisses the May 1998 mass rapes as mere rumor. For the victims, it was a crime against humanity.

CULTURE Minister Fadli Zon is consistent when it comes to the mass rapes against ethnic Chinese citizens in the May 1998 riots. Over the years, he has denied there were crimes against humanity in the run up to the Reformasi era. In his book Politik Huru-Hara 1998 (Politics of the 1998 Riots), which he wrote in 2004, Fadli claimed that the mass rapes were an incident that was exaggerated.

Two decades later, he brazenly states that the mass rapes are an unproven rumor. This denial appears to be in line with the project he is currently leading: a rewriting of Indonesian history.

Involving 100 academics, the Gerindra Party politician wants to produce a positive narrative of history with the aim not to reveal the truth about the dark events of the past, but to determine what the public can and cannot know. This government version of the “official history” is dangerous because it erases major events that occurred in Indonesia.

Fadli rejected the use of the term mass rape because of the number of victims. United Nations Human Rights Commission documents define mass rape as rape that is widespread and systematic, committed by more than one person, and directed at victims from particular ethnic or religious groups.

The mass rapes in May 1998 fulfill these criteria. The May 1998 Riots Joint Fact-Finding Team (TGPF) for the May 1998 Incident, established on July 23, 1998, concluded that the mass rapes were carried out by a number of people in various locations at almost the same time—in North and West Jakarta, as well as a number of regions in Tangerang and Bekasi. These locations were known to be places where ethnic Chinese people lived and worked. They became the targets for organized terror because of their race.

Look at what Agatha—not her real name—experienced. Through an electronic message to Tempo on June 21, 2025, she recounted the prolonged trauma caused by the events of May 14, 1998. The woman of Chinese descent who had just graduated from high school was raped by a number of men at her home in West Jakarta. She was taken to a safe house and eventually evacuated abroad. Every May, her body often trembles as she remembers the events of that fateful day.

These sexual crimes occurred in a number of areas where looting also took place. The modus operandi was the same. The perpetrators were unknown to local people and shouted anti-Chinese slogans. The women who avoided rape were those who were rescued by local people.

The TGPF recorded, from May 13-15, 1998, at least 52 women were raped, 14 were raped and persecuted, 10 were sexually assaulted and nine were sexually harassed. Most of the rapes occurred in homes that had been looted. Some of the victims were gang-raped, and most of the rapes were committed in front of other people, including the victims’ families.

Testimony from former members of the TGPF, eyewitnesses, and those who supported the victims, and whom Tempo met with again, confirmed these findings. And investigations by this magazine also uncovered indications of the involvement of soldiers who tried to silence doctors who had treated rape victims.

The government has previously admitted this tragedy happened. In his first speech as President on August 16, 1998, B. J. Habibie confirmed there had been mass sexual violence against ethnic Chinese women. It also prompted the government to establish the National Commission on Violence Against Women. In his second presidential term, Joko Widodo acknowledged the May 1998 riots, including the mass rapes, as one of the gross human rights violations.

The administration of President Prabowo Subianto now wishes to erase the Indonesian people’s collective memory of this incident. It is hard not to suspect that Fadli Zon is protecting his boss over the 1998 riots, which are estimated to have killed more than 1,200 people. In the TGPF recommendations, Prabowo, then Commander of the Army’s Strategic Reserve Command, along with Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Commander of the Jakarta Military Region Command who is now Minister of Defense, were among those who should be held accountable.

Concealing this tragedy will not improve Indonesia’s image. Admitting the mass rapes and other dark incidents in the past would prove that the Indonesian people do not easily succumb to tantrums when looking at the past.

Read the Complete Story in Tempo English Magazine

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