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Ita Martadinata: Remembering the victims of the May 1998 tragedy

The murder of one survivor of rape during the May 1998 riots remains unsolved today, a stark reminder that public acknowledgement, reconciliation and justice for victims of the widespread violence, both Chinese and non-Chinese, remains elusive.

Kevin Ng (The Jakarta Post)

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Thu, May 20, 2021 Published on May. 19, 2021 Published on 2021-05-19T14:50:39+07:00

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A prayer: The Boen Hian Tong community in Semarang holds a prayer ritual in front of Ita Martadinata’s memorial tablet on May. 13, 2021.

Note: This article contains graphic accounts of violence and trauma.

Ita Martadinata was only 17 years old when her dead and mutilated body was found on Oct. 9, 1998 at her family home in Central Jakarta.

A Chinese-Indonesian human rights activist who was also a key witness and survivor of the widespread rape that occurred during the May 1998 riots, Ita’s throat had been cut so deeply that she was almost decapitated and a wooden stick had been shoved inside her anus.

Ita’s murder remains unsolved to date, and stands as a reminder of how elusive justice still is for victims of the tragedy.

Unforgettable chaos

Ita Fatia Nadia is a former member of the Volunteer Team for Humanity (TRK) that was set up as a result of the May riots.

In 1998, Nadia was a coordinator at Kalyanamitra, a women’s rights and advocacy nongovernmental organization, and recalled May 11 as the day she first heard about a rape connected to the sociopolitical upheaval that was engulfing the capital city.