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Je suis Chinois
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The International People's Tribunal (IPT) on 1965 crimes against humanity in Indonesia is held in the Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Nov. 10 to 13. (Courtesy of the International People’s Tribunal 1965/-)
I
t has been thankfully rare, following the reforms that have been introduced since 1998, for Chinese-Indonesians to fall victim to widespread acts of ethnic violence. The sweeping reforms have indeed given a boost to the minority group’s role in many aspects of life other than commerce, in which they have excelled for decades, allowing them to further integrate into the nation state called Indonesia.
To prove the nation’s respect for its ethnic diversity all administrations resulting from elections held since the fall of the New Order have reserved at least one Cabinet seat for a member of the Chinese-Indonesian community. Such awareness reached a new peak when Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama became the first Chinese-Indonesian to be elected Jakarta deputy governor in 2012 and subsequently become the Jakarta governor two years later.
It is therefore most regrettable that, as Indonesia marches toward greater achievements in managing its multi-ethnic relationship, reports have emerged that an Indonesian citizen of Chinese descent, Andrew Budikusuma, had filed a report with the Jakarta Police against a group of men who reportedly assaulted him aboard a Transjakarta bus last Friday night, apparently because of his ethnicity. In his testimony Andrew said he was attacked immediately after the men called him “Ahok”.
The incident could just be a spillover from the boiling political climate ahead of the Jakarta election next February, which has seen adversaries of the incumbent governor launch a dark campaign to foil his bid for a full five-year mandate.
One of the justifications for the anti-Ahok crusade is the supposed risk that the Chinese community would get a grip on both the political and economic levers of powers in Indonesia if he won reelection.
Meanwhile, in July a mob set fire to temples and pagodas as well as looting shops in the North Sumatra town of Tanjungbalai after a Chinese-Indonesian woman, Meliana, complained about the volume of a loudspeaker at the mosque near her house. Many may question whether the riot was aimed at the minority ethnic group, but the fact that Meliana and her family were finally forced to leave the port city out of fear for their safety underlines the vulnerability of this nation to ethnic conflict.
The mob running amok in Tanjungbalai, the hate speech targeting Ahok and the attack on Andrew should not be seen as sporadic, separate incidents, but the tip of a sinister iceberg that could sink the good ship Indonesia.
The police must not tolerate any act that fuels hatred, let alone violence, against minority groups in order that a message is sent that every citizen is equal before the law. A lack of action on Andrew’s report, for example, would constitute a lack of state concern for minority rights and, worse, the condoning of the tyranny of the majority.
Furthermore, instead of issuing superficial policies such as changing the term “Cina” to “Tiongkok” when referring to China, the government would be better employed promoting respect for the identity of the Chinese-Indonesian community by allowing its members the freedom to keep their Chinese names
