In a joint statement the Civil Society Coalition Against Impunity, which is made up of a number of civil society organisations and individuals, strongly condemned a statement made by the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Fadli Zon, regarding the May 1998 affair.
In a video interview titled "Real Talk: Hot Debate!! Fadli Zon vs Uni Lubis on History Book Revisions", which was aired on the IDN Times YouTube channel on June 10, Zon made two very problematic statements.
First, he stated that there was no evidence of violence against women, including mass rapes, during the May 1998 riots in Jakarta. Second, he claimed that this information was just a rumour and was never recorded in history books. We consider this statement to be a form of manipulation, obscuring history, and an insult to efforts to reveal the truth about the human tragedy that occurred, especially the violence against women in the May 1998 affair.
This is in line with the history rewriting project currently being led by Zon as the Minister of Culture, which appears to be removing important narratives about gross human rights violations from the public space. Zon's statement shows a lack of empathy for the victims and all women who struggle alongside the victims. He has failed to understand the specificity of sexual violence compared to other forms of violence, especially the tendency to deliberately target the victimised party, namely ethnic Chinese women.
Zon's statement is an attempt to discredit the work of the Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF) and the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), which have documented and investigated the events of May 1998, with sexual violence as part of the event. The TGPF itself was formed by President BJ Habibie in July 1998, and consisted of elements from the government, Komnas HAM, non-government organisations (NGOs) and other social organisations to investigate the events of May 1998, including reports of sexual violence that revealed shocking facts. The TGPF was tasked with uncovering the facts, the perpetrators and the background to the events of May 1998, as well as searching for the chronology of the events and relationships between subjects at each location. From the process of collecting data and evidence for approximately three months, the TGPF released its final report on October 23, 1998.
The TGPF's final report noted that acts of sexual violence occurred in Jakarta and surrounding areas as well as Medan (North Sumatra) and Surabaya (East Java). The forms of sexual violence found in the May 1998 affair were divided into several categories, namely: rape, rape and abuse, sexual assault/abuse and sexual harassment that occurred in the home, on the street and in front of places of business. The report found that there were 52 victims of rape, 14 victims of rape with abuse, 10 victims of sexual assault/abuse, and nine victims of sexual harassment obtained from a number of pieces of evidence, including statements from victims, victims' families, eyewitnesses, other witnesses (nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, companions, clergy) and statements from doctors.
The TGPF also found victims of sexual violence that occurred before and after the May 1998 affair. During a visit to the Medan area, the TGPF also received reports of hundreds of victims of sexual harassment that occurred on May 4-8, 1998. After the May Incident, it was also followed by 2 (two) cases that occurred in Jakarta on July 2, 1998 and 2 (two) cases that occurred in Solo (Central Java) on July 8, 1998.
The TGPF also found that most rape cases were gang rapes where the victim was raped by a number of people alternately at the same time. Most rape cases are also carried out in front of other people. A National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) Special Report on the May 1998 Sexual Violence and its Impact also found that ethnic Chinese women, who at that time were constructed as scapegoats due to the monetary crisis in Indonesia, were intentionally targeted. This intent is evident from the testimony of one of the women who was not raped because her "native" mother succeeded in convincing the perpetrators that she was her daughter.
Although these finding has been handed over to the Attorney General's Office for further legal proceedings, to this day there has been no adequate legal settlement at the criminal investigation level through to the court process. But the heartbreaking fact is that up until now the case has never been resolved. There has never been a disclosure of truth, certainty or even justice in the affair for the victims and families of victims of the May 1998 events who have been fighting for their rights which the state is certainly obliged to fulfil. This not only violates the right of every citizen to live in a safe and dignified manner, but also creates prolonged trauma and a deep climate of fear in society.
Zon's statement, which negates the sexual violence in May 1998, means erasing history of the establishment of Komnas Perempuan, which was formed through Presidential Decree Number 181/1998 in response to the tragedy. Komnas Perempuan is the biological child of reformasi – the political reform process that began in 1998 – the negation of this violence is tantamount to denying the spirit of reformasi. In fact, the collective memory of the tragedy is enshrined through the May 1998 memorial in Pondok Rangon, which was inaugurated in 2015 by Komnas Perempuan and the Jakarta governor at the time, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. Removing this historical fact is a betrayal of the victims and their struggle.
Zon's statement reflects systematic effort to erase all traces of human rights violations during the New Order era of former president Suharto, by eliminating narratives about the events of sexual violence in May 1998 and other gross human rights violations from historical books that are being revised. This is also a retreat on the part of the state in ensuring protection for women and instead further strengthens the image of the country's masculinity. Ironically, instead of questioning the absence of stories about the May 1998 affair in history, Zon as a minister should ensure that these cases are published honestly and fairly, and in favour of the voices of the victims. This emptying of the narrative actually deepens injustice and neglects the victims' rights.
We are of the view that this is also an effort to break the collective memory and betray the struggle of the victims to obtain recognition, justice, truth and rehabilitation. If Zon wants history to be written to unify the nation, then he should have the courage to face the fact that Indonesian history is inseparable from the injuries of the victims and families of the victims. Human rights violations are a commitment in shaping history that unites the nation as an inseparable part of Indonesian history as well as being a lesson for future generations.
We are of the view that Indonesia cannot be continuously managed in ways that nullifies scientifically collected evidence, which is free from conflicts of interest. Various studies have been done and academic texts written by researchers from home and abroad that prove that the ethnic based rapes are true and really happened. The interests of those in power cannot be established on a fragile foundation by closing their eyes to historical facts. If this is not addressed and prevented from happening again, future generations will be reluctant to stand on the shoulder of knowledge to take Indonesia forward as a great nation.
Furthermore, our concern has increased with the appointment of Zon as chairperson of the Titles, Service and Honorary Medals Board (GTK). This body has an important mandate in providing consideration to the president on which figures will be awarded the title of national hero. The combination of roles as the Minister of Culture who is revising history and as chairperson of the GTK is a strong indication of the existence of a greater agenda to change the direction of national historical narratives, including the possibility of encouraging the political rehabilitation of problematic figures from the New Order era.
One of the concrete indications is the strengthening of the discourse of the awarding of the title of national hero to Suharto, the central figure of the New Order regime who was responsible for human rights violations, corruption and abuse of power for decades. Zon has openly stated that Suharto deserves the title of national hero. This clearly contradicts the historical facts and is an insult to the sense of justice of the victims and families of victims of past human rights violations.
The Civil Society Coalition Against Impunity therefore:
- Criticises and strongly rejects Fadli Zon's statement which denies the sexual violence during the May 1998 affair and calls it a rumour. This statement harms efforts to reveal the truth and provide justice for victims and has the potential to perpetuate the culture of impunity.
- Demands that Fadli Zon publically withdraw his statement, provide clarification and convey a public apology to the victims and the families of the victims of gross human rights violations, especially sexual violence in the May 1998 affair and to all Indonesian women who struggle together with the victims to uphold justice.
- Urge the cancellation of Fadli Zon's appointment chairperson of the GTK because the position has the potential to be used to revise history unilaterally and in a misleading manner.
- Demands that the Ministry of Culture stop the Indonesian "official history" writing project because it has the potential to obscure historical facts, especially cases of past gross human rights violations, and it is feared that the rewriting of official history is only a momentary political project.
- Encouraging the presence of participatory and inclusive space in the writing of national history, where the voices of the victims of sexual violence in May 1998 and other gross human rights violations became a central part of building the collective memory of a just and dignified nation.
- Emphasises the importance of maintaining the work of the TGPF, Komnas HAM and Komnas Perempuan as part of efforts to uncover the truth and record the history of gross human rights violations.
- Urge the Attorney General to immediately follow up on the Komnas HAM investigation report related to cases of gross violations of human rights, by forming an ad hoc investigation team in accordance with the mandate of Article 21 paragraph (3) of Law Number 26/2000 on Human Rights Courts.
- Reject all efforts to politically rehabilitate problematic figures from the New Order regime, including the discourse of the awarding of the title of national hero to Suharto.
- Urge the state to guarantee the rehabilitation, recognition, disclosure of truth and justice for the victims and the families of victims, as well as making the history of violence in May 1998 as well as other gross human rights violations part of the nation's collective memory.
- Call on all elements of civil society, academics, the media and victims in the community to continue to oversee the narrative of the nation's history so as not to fall into a misleading and ahistorical revision.
June 13, 2025
Civil Society Coalition Against Impunity
Notes
Fadli Zon is a close confidant of President Prabowo Subianto who has been accused of playing a central role in sparking the May 14, 1998 anti-Chinese riots in Jakarta that saw hundreds of ethnic Chinese women raped and murdered and more than a thousand people killed. At the time, Prabowo was head of the Army's Strategic Reserves (Kostrad) based in Jakarta. In 2003, the Komnas HAM accused Prabowo of responsibility "for gross human rights violations that occurred during the extensive rioting in Jakarta in 1998". The Komnas HAM report said that "security authorities at that time failed to curb the widespread riots that took place simultaneously". The spread of the riots was a result of a specific policy based on the "similar pattern at almost all places where the riots took place, which began with provocation, followed by an attack on civilians".
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Kekerasan Seksual Mei 1998 Bukan Rumor Belaka, Lawan Upaya Culas Negara dalam Memutihkan Dosa Orde Baru!".]
