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Mothers of ‘98 riot victims will never give up seeking justice
They call on Jokowi to honor his 2014 campaign pledge to resolve past rights violations through the intended channels and bring the perpetrators to justice.
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The 606th Kamisan is held on Oct. 17, 2019 at the Aspiration Park in Monas, Central Jakarta, . (JP/Syelanita)
A
quarter of a century after the bloody 1998 tragedy, which provided the spark to upend the New Order regime, mothers who lost their children to the violence are persevering with their campaign to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In their minds, having dictator president Soeharto quit was not enough to wash away the grief that stayed even as the nation ushered into a new era of reform.
Instead, they have renewed demands for the government to thoroughly resolve past atrocities including the Trisakti Tragedy and the May 1998 riots, in which thousands of innocent lives were lost.
To mark 25 years since the tragedy and the ensuing sea-change, about 100 people clad in black and carrying black umbrellas gathered in front of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on an overcast Thursday.
Many of these people had been making the same silent protest every week for the past 16 years since Jan. 18, 2007, in what is now known as the Kamisan movement.
Among the protesters was Maria Sanu, who sat with her walking stick while holding a photograph of her son Stevanus Sanu, who died during the May 14, 1998 riots in Klender, East Jakarta.
She recounted how the 16-year-old boy left home alone that day for Yogya Plaza Klender, now Citra Plaza Klender, to watch the rioting, his friends having declined to join him.
