MUZI - Lateline News

In the Indonesia May riots, atrocities were committed towards Chinese Indonesians. The atrocities included burning and looting of private properties, and violating human rights of local Chinese Indonesian, many are racially motivated and allegedly organized and directed by the political and military elites. The reported attacks ranged from the degrading and humiliating violations of women who were made to strip and perform calisthenics in public, to assaulting women who were repeatedly raped and then thrown into the flames of burning buildings. The reports involve girls and women ranging in age from 10 to 55. Some were gang-raped in front of a crowd in the Chinese commercial districts.

The Indonesian government has not taken any serious steps of condemning this savage and inhumane incidence but provides only lip service of a simple investigation. Even the new president has not pointed out to the failure of the police or army to protect properties and lives, specially the female members of the society.

We plan to organize a peaceful protest in front of the Indonesia Embassy in Washington DC from 10:00am to 12:00pm, August 7, 1998 to demand the followings:

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.

Most importantly, we want the whole world to know that such atrocities have been committed so that pressure will put to bare to the Indonesian government and perpetrators, so that this kind of inhumane atrocity will never happen again. We need to expose this atrocity to the world financial communities like IMF such that human rights issue and compliance can be attacked to aids. We need your supports to do the followings:

Join us in the protest on August 7.

Organize protests to all Indonesian government local offices.

Prepare to send protesting letters to pertinent organizations and supporting letters to local Chinese Indonesian organizations.

Inform your congressmen and senators of the atrocity and do not forget the executive branch.

Inform all human rights organizations and amnesty international.

* DEMONSTRATION PLAN *

We will organize a peaceful demonstration in front of the Indonesia Embassy in Washington DC from 10:00am to 12:00pm on Friday, August 7, 1998. The following is our plan:

1. Gathering and handling out of posters to participates in front of the Indonesia Embassy by 9:40am.

2. 20 to 30 participants will be assigned at stationary position as guard with the walking paths be designated with guides. Two official photographers will be assigned to take pictures.

3. The demonstration will be contacted Between 10:00am and 12:00pm by walking in a circular path within the designated walkway carrying the posters.

4.Handing out leaflets to by-standers and newsmen.

5.A letter to the Indonesian Government will be read out loud to the masses.

Poster writing suggestions:

1. 1188 killed + pictures

2. 4083 shops burned + pictures

3. 1020 houses burned + pictures

4. 163 women and children raped + pictures

5. STOP Violence against Women and Children

6. STOP Religion Persecution

7. STOP Discrimination

8. Prosecute Perpetrators

9. Protect Minority

10. Support and Protect Human Rights

11. Punish Violators

12. Violators Brought to Justice

We welcome any suggetion for the demonstration.

Thanks for your attention.

Sincerely yours,