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elatives of the victims of the May 1998 tragedy expressed their sincere appreciation on Sunday as the Jakarta administration began the construction of a memorial to their loved ones at Pondok Ranggon Public Cemetery in East Jakarta.

They said they were proud of their relatives who died in the bloody riots and of the city administration, which finally decided to construct the memorial for the victims who were mostly buried in a mass grave at the cemetery.

Ruyati Darwin, 67, who lost her 33-year-old son Eten Karyana in the fire that razed the Central Plaza in Klender, East Jakarta, on May 13, 1998, praised the city administration'€™s move to construct the memorial, which she said would help her keep alive the memory of her son and the other victims.

'€œI'€™m relieved that the city has finally acknowledged the tragedy; that thousands of people were killed for no reason. It is really a step toward justice,'€ she said. Ruyati, however said she still bore a heavy burden as she had never achieved a legal resolution to the death of her son.

She said she still took part in the weekly Thursday protest '€” also known as Kamisan '€” in front of the Presidential Palace demanding a thorough investigation into the tragedy and other human-rights abuses, including the Trisakti and Semanggi shootings.

'€œI have fought for justice for 16 years. The memorial'€™s construction gives me new hope that comprehensive justice will be achieved in these human-rights abuses. I'€™m getting old but I'€™m never going to give up,'€ she said.

The city administration will build the monument shaped as a needle threaded with a red thread, titled Prasasti Jarum Mei 1998. The threaded needle symbolizes the healing process for the victims'€™ families for the loss of their loved ones.

Currently, there are two needle monuments in Jakarta; one in the National Commission on Violence Against Women'€™s (Komnas Perempuan) office in Central Jakarta and the other in Citra Mall Klender, the site of the former Central Plaza.

Komnas Perempuan is aiming to build needle monuments at other sites of the May 1998 riots, such as in Glodok, West Jakarta, and in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM), Central Jakarta. Shops in Glodok, mainly owned by ethnic Chinese, were burned down by rioters while the RSCM accommodated thousands of riot victims.

The needle monuments are dedicated to all the riot victims, identified or otherwise, young or old, of all ethnic backgrounds, including ethnic Chinese.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama who laid the first stone for the memorial, said that he fully supported Komnas Perempuan'€™s initiative to build the needle monuments at various sites throughout the city.

'€œVictims of the May 1998 tragedy must be remembered. Not to reopen old wounds, but to remind us that a terrible thing once happened to our country and to remind us not to repeat such a tragedy in the future,'€
he said.

Ahok added that although the memorial would be built more than a decade after the tragedy, he hoped that the younger generation would learn to respect people of all ethnic backgrounds in the country.

He said that the younger generation had to understand how Indonesia came to finally accept the ethnic Chinese, even if it meant learning about the killings. '€œIf not for the May 1998 riots, ethnic Chinese would still be discriminated against. I would not have been Bangka Belitung regent. I would not be the deputy governor of the capital city,'€ Ahok said.

Komnas Perempuan chairwoman Yuniyanti Chuzaifah agreed, saying that the May 1998 riots had to be remembered, not only to respect those who died during the riots but also to teach the younger generation.

'€œSchools only teach students about the 1998 reformation. Children don'€™t know all the events and incidents leading up to the reform. They must know the truth because they will be the future leaders,'€ Yuniyanti said.

She said the memorial had to be built because hundreds of unidentified victims were buried in a mass grave at the cemetery but nothing had been done to indicate the presence of the mass grave. (dwa)