The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Please help by reporting disputed passages and terms on the talk page.

Jakarta Riots of May 1998 were riots that occurred in several parts of Indonesia, notably Jakarta and Surakarta during May 1998. The riots were triggered by economic problems like food shortages and mass unemployment in Indonesia. Image File history File links Stop_hand. ... Riots occur when crowds of people have gathered and are committing crimes or acts of violence usually due to a perceived grievance or out of dissent. ... Motto: Jaya Raya (Indonesian): Prosper and Great Founded 22 June 1527 Governor Sutiyoso Area 661. ... The city of Solo, formally known as Surakarta, 65 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Yogyakarta and slightly further southeast of Semarang in Java, Indonesia, was a center of power during the Mataram Kingdom. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... An 1837 political cartoon about unemployment in the United States. ...

The Indonesian currency Rupiah had collapsed and prices of basic goods skyrocketed. Students took to the streets in Jakarta and protested against then President Suharto. The rioting started after four ethnic Chinese students from Trisakti University were shot dead during a demonstration on 12 May 1998. After the funeral the following day, rioting started outside the university, with police and military offices and cars as the major targets. The riots became more wide-spread on 14-15 May 1998 and quickly turned into a pogrom targeting properties and businesses owned by ethnic-Chinese (Indonesian Chinese), who were made into scapegoats. Many shops put up signs such as "Milik pribumi" ("Owned by native Indonesian(s)") or "Pro Reformasi" ("In favour of change"). Otherwise shops owned by ethnic Chinese were looted and burned There were also hundreds of documented accounts of ethnic Chinese women being raped, tortured and killed. Fearing for their lives, many ethnic Chinese, who made up about 3-5% of Indonesia's population, fled the country. The 1998-2001 series of rupiah banknotes Rupiah (Rp) is the monetary unit of Indonesia (currency code IDR). ... Motto: Jaya Raya (Indonesian): Prosper and Great Founded 22 June 1527 Governor Sutiyoso Area 661. ... Haji Mohammad Soeharto (born June 8, 1921), more commonly referred to as simply Soeharto (Suharto in the English-speaking world), is a former Indonesian military and political leader. ... Founded November 29, 1965 Rector Prof. ... Pogrom (from Russian: ; from громить - to wreak havoc, to demolish violently) is a form of riot, a massive violent attack on a particular group; ethnic, religious or other, primarily characterized by destruction of their environment (homes, businesses, religious centers). ... It has been suggested that The Indonesian Ethnic Chinese and the view of nationhood be merged into this article or section. ...

In the aftermath, a fact finding team from the Indonesian Human Rights Commission stated that the events were orchestrated by "certain groups" who were "well built and had short cropped hair". The team fell short of accusing the military, but privately several members of the team have mentioned that what happened was a repeat of the Malari riots of 1974. In that case, the riots were started by members of Opsus (Operasi Khusus -- Special Intelligence Operations) under the command of Gen. Ali Moertopo. Years after the fact, Gen. Moertopo acknowledged his complicity in that riot.

Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia

Throughout much of modern Indonesian history ethnic Chinese has been made into scapegoats and been targets of discrimination and violence. ujhiujhui

See also

• Indonesian 1998 Revolution
• pogrom
• sinophobia

In 1998, following over thirty years of military dictatorship under General Suharto, the 1998 Indonesian Revolution led to the introduction of democracy. ... Pogrom (from Russian: ; from громить - to wreak havoc, to demolish violently) is a form of riot, a massive violent attack on a particular group; ethnic, religious or other, primarily characterized by destruction of their environment (homes, businesses, religious centers). ... Sinophobia is a consistent hostility toward people of Chinese origin, and may also refer to hostility towards Chinas culture or history and government. ...

External links

• True Pictures of the Riots
• True Pictures of the Riots
• [1] Attack on Ethnic Chinese Women in Indonesian - Human Rights Watch website
• ColorQ World - The Indonesian Riots
• BBC - Ethnic Chinese tell of mass rapes
• Siamweb.org - Victim's account
• Pictures of the Riots

[[2]]