Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia

Image source: news.bbc.co.uk

By Beni Bevly
On May 13, 9 years ago in Indonesia, there was an incident that remains a mystery and no one found guilty. All efforts from human right organizations were red taped in house of representative of Indonesia and the government.

The incident was started on May 12, 1998, where four students were shot dead by by army or police snipers. Then the following day, May 13, the riot escalated. At least 1,000 people died in three days of rioting now believed to have been masterminded by senior military figures (BBC News, November 3, 1998).

Volunteer groups have recorded 168 cases of rape against ethnic Chinese women. They say 20 of the victims died as a result.

Looting mobs destroyed an estimated 3,200 billion rupiah (HK$1.9 billion) in stock and property, most of them Chinese-owned (South China Morning Post, July 25, May 1998)

Will this incident remain unsolved?

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*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.