Indonesian minister's denial of 1998 mass rapes slammed by activists, officials
JAKARTA: An Indonesian minister's denial of mass rapes that took place during the country's 1998 riots has been slammed by rights activists and the National Commission on Violence Against Women.
Culture Minister Fadli Zon's remarks that the mass rapes were 'all hearsay' and 'rumours' have incited fresh concerns over the government's plan to release new history books that some historians say omit major human rights violations.
"What actually happened? We never truly know, as there has never been any hard evidence. Who said it was mass rape? It was all hearsay, and such rumours won't resolve anything," Fadli said in a podcast last week with media outlet IDN Times.
He was discussing the government's plan to revise the country's official historical narrative by launching a new 10-volume series of history books during Indonesia's Independence Day on Aug 17.
The project has been panned by historians in recent weeks, after a 30-page draft outline began circulating in limited circles.
Fadli's remarks on the mass rapes flew in the face of past findings, including that by a government-sanctioned fact-finding team whose report documented 85 cases of sexual violence, including 52 rapes, in 1998.
The report was received by former President BJ Habibie, who expressed regret over the violence, noted Commissioner Dahlia Madanih of the National Commission on Violence Against Women on Sunday (Jun 15).
'Denying the official findings of the fact-finding team is denying the collective work of this nation in the pursuit of justice,' Dahlia said, as reported by Indonesian news agency Antara.
'The survivors have borne the burden in silence for too long. This denial is not only painful but also perpetuates impunity,' she said.
The unrest in Indonesia in 1998 arose from economic turmoil and mounting anger at former President Suharto's authoritarian rule. Chinese-Indonesians were targeted in riots that broke out in various cities in May that year, days before Suharto resigned.
Fadli's comments were 'deeply hurtful' and dismissive of well-documented evidence of violence that targeted the Chinese-Indonesian community, said Diyah Wara Restiyati from the Indonesian Chinese Youth Association, as reported by news outlet The Jakarta Post.
'When government officials say the rapes didn't happen, it deeply wounds us, especially Chinese-Indonesian women, who lived through that horror,' Diyah said.
Jakarta city councillor Fatimah Tania Nadira Alatas also criticised Fadli, saying his comments were unethical and an attempt to erase historical trauma.
'Historical wounds cannot be erased, especially not revised. The violence against women, particularly ethnic Chinese women, must be remembered so it never happens again,' said Tania, whose remarks were posted on the Jakarta NasDem Party's social media accounts.
In the wake of public criticism, Fadli – who is with President Prabowo Subianto's Gerindra party – said he was calling for 'academic and legal caution' when referring to the incidents as mass rapes.
He said the term carries serious implications and must be backed by legally verified data, and that he was not denying sexual violence occurred during the 1998 riots, reported news site Jakarta Globe.
But Fadli criticised the fact-finding team's work. Posting on social media platform X on Monday, he said its report listed numbers without detailed corroboration of information such as names, locations or perpetrators.
'We must be careful because this affects national dignity and truth,' Fadli said.
The Indonesian government's plan to launch new history books has been criticised by activists and historians.
A leading historian, Asvi Warman Adam, has said the draft downplays abuses and is 'glorifying' the achievements made under Suharto's regime, The Jakarta Post reported.
The draft outline includes only two out of 17 cases of gross human rights violations recognised by Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights, news outlet Nikkei Asia reported.
Some of the omitted cases include events involving President Prabowo, according to Nikkei Asia.
Prabowo has not commented on the project, Nikkei Asia reported. But he has previously said some former activists are now his supporters.
Prabowo, a former general, was accused of orchestrating the 1997-1998 kidnapping and forced disappearance of 22 activists critical of Suharto, including 13 who are still missing today. Suharto was Prabowo's former father-in-law.
Fadli claimed the accusations have been debunked when speaking to news agency Reuters last month.
Reuters reported Jajat Burhanuddin, a historian involved in the project, saying there had been no state intervention so far.
The 1998 kidnappings and torture of student activists would be included, Jajat reportedly said, although he declined to say whether Prabowo would be mentioned in those accounts.
Fadli has said the project would have an Indonesia-centric narrative and aims "to reinvent the Indonesian identity". He has said it will involve over 100 historians and archaeologists from 34 universities and research institutions.
But a coalition of activists and historians, called the Indonesian Historical Transparency Alliance, has said the project 'appears to be a deliberate effort to engineer the past with a single interpretation'.
The coalition called last month on House of Representatives lawmakers to reject the government's bid to rewrite history.
Hetifah Sjaifudian, chair of the House's Commission X overseeing education and culture, said the committee would meet with the Culture Ministry, and promised to urge the removal of the 'official' label from the new books to preserve space for open historical discourse, The Jakarta Post reported.
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