MUZI - Lateline News

A letter to be read to the masses and to be presented to the Indonesia Government at its

Washington DC Embassy on August 7, 1998.

We the undersigned organizations want to inform you of some of the atrocities and human rights violations committed by the organized indigenous-Indonesian gangs with alleged links to the security forces of the government as reported in the reliable news organizations

during the recent May riots:

1188 people killed or raped to death, 4083 shops burned, 1020 houses destroyed, 163 women raped with 20 deaths from age 10 to 55.

Ethnic Chinese Communities (mostly christians) were the focus of this savage atrocity.

Military chief denial of all these incidence.

Reports of allegation that the atrocity was organized and instigated by the political and military elites of the government.

We are here to demand that the following actions be taken immediately:

Stop discrimination against minorities and protect minority human rights and religious freedom.

Make sure nothing like this type of atrocities ever to happen again.

Perpetrators be immediately brought to justice and be punished.

Provide help and compensation to the victims and their families.

Apologize to the local Chinese Indonesian community for not providing adequate protection.

We will also be informing the world organizations and US Governments of the atrocities and request that they apply pressure to your government so that the above demands are complied with and not providing lip service of a simple investigation. We will also be seeking supports from the financial communities like the IMF such that human rights issue and compliance can be attached to the financial aids.

We sincerely hope that you will take this human rights violation incidence most seriously and take proper actions.