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Our memories of May are fading, we need more memorials: Activists
“We wish that the monuments and graves of victims of the May 1998 riots could become a historical landmark so the city cultural agency could take over. That way, those historical events can become a precious lesson for this nation,” Zaenal told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
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Family members of May 1998 riot victims attend the 21st commemoration of the tragedy in Klender Mall in East Jakarta on May 13, 2019. The event was held to maintain the memories of the the country's dark tragedy and to raise awareness of unresolved past human rights abuses. (Antara/Aprilio Akbar)
S
ince 1998, the last year of Soeharto’s administration, Indonesia has remembered May as the month when thousands died and some women were allegedly raped. However, activists are worried that the collective memory is fading and they have lobbied the government and the Jakarta administration for more memorials to remind the nation of the tragedy and that so many people have yet to get justice.
Today, the tragedy and riots are memorialized in Jakarta at the Transjakarta bus shelter called 12 Mei Reformasi, which has a statue standing across from it in Grogol, West Jakarta near Trisakti University, a plaque at the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) in Menteng, Central Jakarta, and Pondok Rangon Cemetery in Cipayung, East Jakarta, which dedicated a plot for mass graves and a monument to commemorate the victims of the May 1998 riots.
All memorials were inaugurated by former Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in 2014 and 2015.
Zaenal Muttaqien of the National Association of Families of the Disappeared (IKOHI) said Jakarta was quite lucky that the riots were remembered through the memorials, after a collaboration with civil society groups especially families of the victims and the city administration.
However, Zaenal wished more could be done by the current city administration to improve public memory of the events.
“We wish that the monuments and graves of victims of the May 1998 riots could become a historical landmark so the city cultural agency could take over. That way, those historical events can become a precious lesson for this nation,” Zaenal told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
