Jakarta Riots of May 1998

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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.

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 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 widespread on 14-15 May 1998 and quickly turned into a pogrom targeting properties and businesses owned by ethnic-Chinese (Chinese Indonesian), 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 [1]. Fearing for their lives, many ethnic Chinese, who made up about 3-5% of Indonesia's population, fled the country.

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" [2]. 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.