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View all search resultsDiscourse: There are more 1998 mass rape victims than recorded
The rewriting of history is always aimed at supporting the ruling, authoritarian government, as many cases around the world have shown, said former attorney general and human rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman.
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Louder than words: An activist holds a poster criticizing Culture Minister Fadli Zon's statement denying the 1998 mass rapes during a Kamisan (Thursday) silent protest on June 26 in front of the State Palace in Jakarta. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A. )
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resident Prabowo Subianto’s administration’s project to rewrite national history in a 10-volume book has been met with opposition from human rights defenders. The book, set for release next month and aimed at becoming a future reference for all educational levels, has been marred by allegations of a lack of transparency and erasure of the country’s dark past, including the mass rapes during the May 1998 tragedy.
Among those opposing the project is former attorney general and human rights campaigner Marzuki Darusman, who led a joint fact-finding team (TGPF) established by then-president BJ Habibie in 1998 to document the atrocities around the May tragedy. He, along with dozens of historians and rights activists, has been urging the government to cancel the project, especially on the heels of a recent comment by Culture Minister Fadli Zon that questioned the credibility of the 1998 rape incidents.
Marzuki talked to The Jakarta Post's Radhiyya Indra in South Jakarta amid his busy schedule on Thursday. Below are excerpts from the conversation.
Question: What do you still remember most about your time leading the TGPF in 1998?
Answer: I still remember a lot. TGPF was established in response to the May riots. Our process took five months from July to November. We met the victims and families of those who were trapped, burned, died or clashed with authorities amid the looting and arson.
[We met] all except those who experienced sexual violence because their trauma was so overwhelming. They were specifically met by a medical team and trusted volunteer activists who were more familiar with the victims. These people, such as activist Ita Fatia Nadia, were initially TGPF members, but quit the team so the victims could talk to them more comfortably.
