BERITA TANAH AIR
 LOCAL NEWS
 MANCA NEGARA
 OPINI
 BUDAYA&TRADISI
 IMMIGRATION
 TOKOH
 ENGLISH
 KOMIK
 AMRIK
 HEMAT & NIKMAT
 JENAK JENAKA
 PENGALAMAN
 FAMILI & PARENTING

May Riot 98 Commemoration (May 2000)

In the event of May Riot '98 Commemoration, again we received a letter from a young man in Los Angeles whose name is Troy Handojo, wrote this letter to President Bill Clinton right after the May Riot '98 occured, along with President Bill Clinton reply letter.
This touching letter has never been published at any media, Troy just sent this letter exclusively to Indonesia Media last month.

Troy Handojo
Los Angeles, California
July 26, 1998

President Bill Clinton
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington D.C. 20500

President Clinton,

Each day I thank God that I am in America. I feel fortunate to be in a country where I can pursue my endeavors without limits. This nation was founded upon the intrinsic belief that civil liberties, justice, and human rights are precious and must be protected. Not is the case in Indonesia. Following the collapse of the Indonesian economy, the indigenous Indonesian people looked to find a scapegoat for their misfortunes. They found that in the ethnic-Chinese citizens. Following May 1998, reports emerged about horrific attacks towards Chinese-Indonesians. It started with merchant stores being looted, then threats of violence, then physical attacks, then rape, and finally brutal killings. Such attacks were done by organized mobs with alleged ties to the police and government armies. These mobs have justified their actions in the belief that the victims are Chinese and Christian. And because they are Chinese and Christian, they deserve to die.

Being brought-up in the United States, I have always felt a sense of pride towards my Indonesian heritage. I associated myself as an Indonesian-American and shared the charm of the Indonesian culture with other people. How naive I was. As I grew older, I began to realize the truths behind the Indonesian government, people, and its history. It has been brought to light that the government has long had a history of corruption and nepotism. Unlike other Indonesian citizens, Chinese-Indonesians have long been targets for discrimination. In the 1960's, the Indonesian government mandated that in order to obtain citizenship, only Chinese immigrants must modify their surnames in order to make it sound more "Indonesian." Chinese people were not allowed to practice their cultural or religious celebrations. Chinese people were barred from speaking in their native language in public. This rule only applied to ethnic-Chinese citizens, and not citizens of other ethnic backgrounds. There has been and still is a systematic racism towards ethnic-Chinese Indonesian citizens, and recently that hatred has manifested itself in physical violence. My pride for Indonesia now is replaced with feelings of disdain and embarrassment.

My parents mentioned stories of women being gang-raped in front of their families. They talked about families trapped in their homes as it is being set ablaze. They described photos of young women's bodies being mutilated and the charred remains of family members huddling together as they were burnt to death. I refused to see such images. Why am I reluctant to see those pictures? Is it because I fear becoming desensitized to such violent images? Is it that I want to separate myself from the realities? It would be so easy to remove myself from the realities because I am miles away from the epicenter. But I can't. I cannot sit back and believe such events are not occurring. For I would be as much at fault as those who commit the crimes, if I let such actions go unnoticed.

What are we to do when those who commit the crimes are the one's who are in power? What are we to do when the majority of the population condones such acts? What are we to do when these act go unpunished? What can I do about this? My honest answer is, "I don't know and as an individual I cannot do anything about it!" I cannot convince the Indonesian government to denounce such actions. I cannot go to Indonesia and defend the victims from attack. It will require the collective efforts of many people in order to resolve the situation. I believe the first step to resolving the problem is to inform as many people as possible. To inform the international community that such acts are occurring, and urge them to denounce the apathetic Indonesian government for not taking action to stop it.

Mr. President, as a leader of the free world, I urge you to make this information known to the American people and take a position to denounce this crime against humanity.

Cordially,

Troy Handojo

President Bill Clinton Reply Letter

Other English Coverage:

Discriminative Laws Still Abound

Letter From Romo Sandyawan to Asiaweek

James Riady Plans to Leave His Business

Repeal of Discriminative Laws on Citizenship Urged