The transition process of government in Indonesia had recorded a black history of humanity, the process of changing the New Order era led by President Soeharto to National Reformation took many lives.
Kerusuhan Mei 1998 It was initiated and triggered by the Trisakti Tragedy, where 4 students namely Elang Mulia, Hafidin Royan, Hendriawan and Heri Hartanto who were Trisakti University students were shot and killed during a demonstration held on May 12, 1998.
The student demonstration began when UI students demanded the rejection of President Suharto's Accountability Speech delivered at the MPR General Session on March 5, 1998, and demanded the resignation of President Suharto from his position.
The May 1998 riots then escalated into racial riots against ethnic Chinese that occurred in several areas in Indonesia on 13-15 May 1998, especially in the capital city of Jakarta.
This riot was also triggered by the Asian financial crisis and was instigated by the Trisakti tragedy in which 4 Trisakti University students were shot and killed during a demonstration on 12 May 1998.
During the riots in Jakarta, riots broke out in the streets, burning of cars, shops, looting, offices and Super Markets and Department Stores burned down by the masses who were ignited by unclear provocations.
On May 14, a number of troops were dispatched from Solo to Jakarta, at the same time Jakarta & Solo flared up and riots broke out in the morning.
At that time, Jakarta was completely paralyzed, and that day was the culmination of riots in Jakarta and also in several big cities in Indonesia.
The riots then spread to assets belonging to residents of Chinese descent, they destroyed, looted and burned several assets belonging to residents of Chinese descent.
The greatest concentration of riots occurred in the cities of Jakarta, Medan and Surakarta. There were hundreds of women of Chinese descent who were later raped and sexually abused in the riots.
Some were even gang-raped, brutally tortured, then killed. During the violent riots, many Indonesians of Chinese descent left Indonesia.
Not only that, a volunteer humanitarian activist working under Panji Romo Sandyawan, named Ita Martadinata Haryono, who is also an 18 year old high school student, was also raped, tortured, and then killed for his activities.
This is an indication that the cases of rape, looting and rioting are like being driven systematically and not just sporadically.
The riots and violent mob riots caused the owners of shops and businesses in several areas to write in front of their shops the words "Owned by the Indigenous" or "Pro-Reform" for fear that their place of business would be destroyed by the masses.
Elsewhere, then President Suharto said he was willing to resign if the people wanted him.
He said this in front of the Indonesian people in Cairo. And on May 15 '98, Suharto then shortened his visit in Cairo and returned to Indonesia and said he was willing to resign.
After the riots, a Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF) was formed regarding this riot case, according to TGPF it was recorded that the death toll from this riot reached 288 people, 101 people were injured, 92 women became victims of rape, hundreds of houses, cars, Mall, Dept. Store caught fire, according to calculations, material losses reached Rp. 2.5 trillion.
The Actor Behind the May 1998 Riots
Of all the riots in May 98 that ended with Suharto's fall as President, many oddities occurred. As
reported by Kompasiana, This incident started from several locations where the pulpit action was in front of the UI Campus where there was a group of people who were called "short-haired" and some who were "long-haired" began to provoke the masses to protest.
The small group wore Ormas clothes which then invited UI students to come out to do a demonstration together.
But at that time the students were not provoked, and then the crowd with short and long hair started throwing stones into the campus and burning car tires.
After creating the riot, the mob then moved and started provoking the masses around Jl. Dr.Cipto Mongunkusumo, then they gave speeches and provoked the local community to take anarchic actions.
Then many masses came and joined the group, these masses then moved and set fire to the Timor Car Show Room.
However, there was something strange about this mass group, this group was quite proficient in throwing Molotov cocktails, as well as skilled at provoking, and inciting the anger of the masses, it was reported that this group always came in groups when thrown into the demo location using Pick Up Cars and Trucks, and strangely this group suddenly disappeared when the riots began to flare up.
The fact is that after years the Indonesian government has not taken any action against the names suspected of being the keys to the May 98 riots.
The government issued a statement stating that sufficient concrete evidence could not be found for the rape cases that occurred during the 98 riots, but this was denied by many parties.
Because the causes and reasons for this riot are still shrouded in confusion and controversy to this day, the Indonesian people as a whole agree that this incident is one of the black pages of history in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Chinese side argued that the rioting of the 98 mass was an act of genocide against citizens of Chinese descent.
This riot is still a controversy among the people, there are those who say that this event was controlled and regulated by a systematic plan, and there are those who say that this riot was purely an act of mass action.
However, another finding reported by Asianweek magazine, in the Asianweek Investigation entitled Ten Days That Shook Indonesia, explained who was the mastermind behind the May '98 riots.
In his writings, it was stated that the drivers of this Riot Action were super-powerful people who even the law seemed unable to touch.
Asianweek conducted interviews with several military officers, lawyers, human rights activists, victims and eyewitnesses, and
Asianweek concluded that riots, looting and rape were all planned actions.
Among the evidence obtained during the investigation was the disappearance of 4 police officers complete with uniforms a few days before the shooting of the Trisakti students.
After all, the bullet taken from the body of the Trisakti victim was not an official bullet belonging to the police.
Not quite there yet. Other evidence also states that 2 men, who are currently in hiding, admitted that they were deliberately recruited to provoke riots.
In fact, military sources said that for the first time they managed to intercept the flow of communications between several army headquarters in Jakarta with provocateur groups on May 14.
The question is, if the riot was deliberately instigated by an actor, there must be a mastermind behind it. However, the identity of this mastermind was never clearly revealed.
There were several questions from several parties who felt strange about the May 98 riots, first, where was the TNI & Polri when the riots hit the capital so that Jakarta became completely paralyzed.
Second, why did the TNI not impose a curfew as a security emergency for the capital, whether the riots that occurred in Jakarta and several other areas were the omission of the government.
Third, why did Wiranto, who was very much the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, then go to Malang on May 14, 1998 to hand over the PPRC, even though at that time the capital city was in a precarious condition.
However, one of the people who is often mentioned as being related to the series of riots is Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, who was then Pangkostrad.
Even some people think that Prabowo's involvement is very clear, but other options also appear in the minds of observers, while the TGPF itself finds that there are a number of individuals involved in this rioting actor with a military background.
Then some speculated that the then-serving Military Commander, Wiranto and the Jaya Regional Commander, Mayjem Shafrie Sjamsoedin, contributed to the omission or that perhaps they were actively involved in the provocation of this riot.
However, whoever was the actor behind the May 98 riots had clearly violated human rights and crimes against humanity, and they must be brought to justice for the sake of upholding law and justice in Indonesia.