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Rights group slams minister’s ‘inaccurate’ remark on May 1998 tragedy
The minister had told reporters that not all crimes could be categorized as gross human rights violations and that the designation should be reserved for genocide, mass killings and ethnic cleansing.
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Coordinating Politics and Security Minister Budi Gunawan (left) talks with Coordinating Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Services Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra (right) during the inauguration of President Prabowo Subianto's Red and White Cabinet at the State Palace in Jakarta on Oct. 21, 2024. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A)
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remark by Coordinating Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Services Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra claiming that the May 1998 tragedy could not be considered a gross human rights violation was wrong and legally incorrect, human rights group Amnesty International Indonesia has said.
“It is inappropriate for government officials to make such false statements about human rights, especially from an official whose job is responsible for human rights issues-related legislation,” the group’s executive director, Usman Hamid, said in a statement on Monday.
Ahead of the inauguration of President Prabowo Subianto’s cabinet at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday, Yusril told reporters that not all crimes could be categorized as gross human rights violations and that the designation should be reserved for genocide, mass killings and ethnic cleansing.
“There were none of those in the last couple of decades. Maybe they happened during the colonial times, in the early days of our independence [or] in the 1960s,” Yusril said, as quoted by Kompas TV.
When asked whether the May 1998 tragedy could be considered such a gross human rights abuse, Yusril answered briefly: “No.”
Read also: May riot victims seek closure from incoming govt
In May 1998, Indonesia saw a series of demonstrations that led to mass violence and civil unrest. Over 1,200 deaths were recorded and at least 52 people became victims of rape, most of whom were Chinese Indonesians, according to investigations by government-sanctioned teams.
