Persecution of Chinese in Indonesia

by feifei_fairy Tue 17 Aug 2010, 12:26 am

Persecution of Chinese in Indonesia

9 October 1740 began the slaughter of Chinese in Batavia.Netherlands troops (including natives under them) pillaging ,raping and killing,even patients and babies killed in hospital. This lasted for eight days. Estimated 10.000 Chinese were killed .

During the Java war, the ethnic cleansing to Chinese committed by Prince Duke Cakraningrat IV on the north coast of Central Java / East Java, from Tuban, Gresik to Surabaya.In Ngawi also occurs massacre led by Yudakusuma Raden Ayu. It spread throughout Central Java and along the Solo River, the massacre of Chinese occurred repeatedly during the Java war.

May 1946, a massacre of Chinese in Tangerang and surrounding areas. 1500 Chinese house destroyed.Anh then rape, massacres, arson spread to Bagan Siapiapi, Kuningan, Majalengka, Indramayu, Pekalongan, Tegal, Puwokerto, Purbalingga, Bobotsari, Gombong, Lumajang, Jember, Malang, Lawang , Singosari and other areas. Thousands shops, factories, vehicles burned out and looted.Therefore Chinese founded an organization called "Pao An Tui" because Chinese facing robbery, rape and murder every day.

31 Oct 1918,Most houses and shops owned by ethnic Tionghoa in Kudus was looted and burnt down by thousands mass of Sarekat Islam that comes from Mayong, Jepara, Pati, Demak and nearby regions.At that time Tionghoa traders was main competitors for Islamic traders.

Peraturan Presiden Nomor 10 tahun 1959 was a law directive issued by Indonesian Government and signed by Ministry of Trade Rachmat Mujomisero. The law prohibited foreign nationals from doing retail business outside urban areas (including rural areas) and must transfer their businesses to Indonesian nationals by 1 January 1960 or relocate to urban areas. This directive was approved by former President Sukarno under threat by army. The rule became controversial since its implementation resulting in several thousand or more people being killed in West Java (also known as racial riot of Cibadak) and triggered a huge exodus of Chinese Indonesians to return to China.Although the regulation merely mentioned that only "foreign citizens" were required to do the relocation and closure of business, the law affected many Chinese nationals and Chinese Indonesian. Although the sanctions specified in the directive were only property confiscation (all items must be given to Koperasi),fines, and forced relocation, in practice, there are records of some offenders executed (Cimahi and Cibadak, West Java) and their businesses were confiscated.In some places the law was enforced by the military. The military shot dead two Chinese women, which triggered a riot in Cimahi, Jawa Barat. It is also noted that the Chinese were forced to leave their home and properties.

10 May 1963 in Bandung and its surroundings riots started because a fight on the campus of ITB,between a Chinese Indonesian student and a native student,the fight caused by motorcycle accident. Then pioneered by ITB and Universitas Padjadjaran students, began the mass destruction of shops, houses and vehicles owned by ethnic Chinese inBandung. Hundreds of shops, houses, factories, motor vehicles were burned out or damaged and looted.Then anarchist action spread to other cities in West Java,like Tasikmalaya, Garut, Cianjur, Sukabumi dllnya. Ironically Tjwan Bing Yap,one of Indonesian independence hero also a victim of these anarchist action.This event was very disappointed him, so he and family were immigrated to the U.S. until his last breath.

October 1965, and feeding off pent-up communal hatreds, the Indonesian army and its civilian allies (especially Muslim vigilante groups) began to kill actual and suspected members and associates of the PKI. Not all victims were PKI members; often the label "PKI" was used to include anyone to the left of the Indonesian National Party(PNI), in other cases victims were suspected or simply alleged Communists.Local Chinese were killed in some areas, and their properties looted and burned as a result of anti-Chinese racism on the excuse that Aidit had brought the PKI closer to China. In the predominantly Christian islands of Nusa Tenggara, Christian clergy and teachers suffered at the hands of Muslim youth.In West Kalimantan, approximately eighteen months after the worst of the killings in Java, indigenous Dayaks expelled 45,000 ethnic Chinese out of rural areas, in which hundreds, or perhaps thousands were killed.Corpses were often thrown into rivers, and at one point officials complained to the army that the rivers running into the city of Surabaya were clogged with bodies. In areas such as Kediri in East Java, Nahdlatul Ulama youth wing (Ansor) members lined up Communists, cut their throats and disposed of the bodies in rivers.The killings left whole sections of villages empty, and the houses of victims or the interned were looted and often handed over to the military.The killings started in the capital Jakarta, spread to Central and East Java, and later Bali. Although killings occurred acrossIndonesia, the worst were in PKI strongholds of Central Java, East Java, Bali, and northern Sumatra. The massacres reached their peak over the remainder of the year before subsiding in the early months of 1966. The estimates of the death toll of the violence range from over 100,000 to 3 million, but most scholars accept a figure of around 500,000. As a result of the purge, one of Sukarno's three pillars of support, the Indonesian Communist Party, had been effectively eliminated by the other two, the military and political Islam. In addition to the PKI, this faction was also hostile toward Sukarno-loyalists, and the Chinese. The fates of victims in prisons were not better than those who were summarily executed. Tortures and killings could happen even in the prisons. For female prisoners, beside tortures, they were also subject to sexual harassments.

In 1967, for reasons to quell Sarawak People's Guerrilla Army (PGRS), the Indonesian military forces have succeeded in provoking the Dayak tribe in West Kalimantan that result in acts of carnage and violence against ethnic Chinese Indonesian in remote villages. As a result tens of thousands of ethnic Chinese became refugees in Singkawang andPontianak which then they spread to Jakarta and major cities in Java.

27 June 1973 Palu,A group of youths destroyed Chinese store. Riots arose because store owner wearing a paper containing Arabic letters as merchandise packaging.

5 August 1973 Bandung, Riot starting from a cart with car accident. The car passenger was Chinese.Then riots erupted everywhere.

April 1980 Ujungpandang, a household servant died suddenly. Then rumors spread that she was tortured to death by her Chinese employer. Race riots erupted. Hundreds of houses and shops owned by ethnic Chinese destroyed.

12 April 1980 Medan, A group of USU students going around town on motorcycles, while shouts anti Chinese. Riots originated from a fight.

20 November 1980 Solo,Riots swept the city of Solo and spread to other cities in Java Central. This incident started because School Teacher and Student fights,the student was Chinese.The fight turned into the destruction and burning of shops owned by Chinese.

September 1986 Singapore,Indonesian TKI abused by Chinese employer. The incident provoked public anger in Surabaya. They pelted cars and shops owned by the Chinese.

26 July 95,Rioting in the south Kalimantan provincial capital ofBanjarmasin has resulted in the destruction of at least seven shops owned by ethnic Chinese. Eleven arrests have been made. The rioting began as the result of an argument between a shopkeeper and a customer.

Nov 95,More than 60 people have been arrested following three days of riots in Purwakarta district in West Java. The riots reportedly began when a 14-year old Muslim girl was allegedly slapped by her ethnic Chinese employees and the owner of a local shop for stealing chocolates. At its highpoint, more than 20,000 people rampaged the business center. Over 20 shops and several cars and homes were seriously damaged.

30 Nov 95,Calm is now reported in the city of Pekalongan, 325 km east of Jakarta, following three days of anti-Chinese riots. The rioting reportedly began after an ethnic Chinese tore pages from the Koran. The police have released 23 people arrested in connection with the violence. Property owned by the ethnic Chinese was ransacked.The Chinese man, who reportedly instigated three days of riots in Pekalongan when he allegedly tore pages of the Koran, has died under mysterious circumstances in a Pekalongan jail. The results of an autopsy were not released.

15 Jan 96,Chinese businesses and vehicles are targeted in riots that erupt in the West Java city of Bandung following a rock concert.

29 July 96,Government buildings and banks are burnt, three people are killed and some 200 arrested as thousands protest against the Suharto regime. The riots come on the heels of the government-supported ousting of Megawati Sukarnoputri as leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party. Some reports indicate that Chinese businesses were specifically attacked.

12 Oct 96,A heavy security presence remains in the East Java town ofSitubondo after some 3000 Muslims riot. Five people are killed and around 120 arrested. Eighteen churches are burnt; a Chinese temple and Chinese-owned stores are vandalized. The rioters were reportedly angered by a court decision to impose only a five year prison sentence on a Muslim sect leader who was charged with insulting Islam.

27 Dec 96,Chinese businesses and Christian churches are targeted as thousands of Muslims riot in Tasikmalaya, West Java. Two of the four dead are Chinese. 100 buildings are damaged or burnt while some 200 are arrested. The riot reportedly erupted due to the police’s mistreatment of three Muslim teachers.

30 Jan 97,Thousands riot in the West Java town of Rengasdengklok, attacking 4 churches, 2 Buddhist temples, and some 100 buildings, many owned by the Chinese. The incident occurs after a Chinese woman complains about the noise being made by Muslims who are observing Ramadan. A few days ago, flyers that threatened to destroy Christian and Chinese properties were distributed in Bandung.

30 March 97,30 people are charged in connection with three days of riots last week in the Central Java town of Pekalongan. Over 60 buildings, mostly Chinese, were damaged. The rioting occurred in the context of political disputes between Golkar and the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP), who are contesting the May 29 federal elections.

25 may 97,80 people are killed as fire engulfs a shopping centre in the South Kalimantan capital of Banjarmasin. The fire occurs as thousands of Golkar and PPP supporters rampage through the city. Some churches and a Buddhist temple are burnt along with Chinese-owned businesses.

2 June 97,Chinese properties and three churches are attacked as hundreds rampage in Kadipaten, West Java. The unrest allegedly began due to a rumor that a Chinese shop owner strip-searched a female who was accused of shoplifting.

16 Sep 97,Three days of anti-Chinese riots in the South Sulawesi city ofUjungpandang result in four deaths. The damage to over 1000 buildings is valued at $4 million. The unrest reportedly arose when a Chinese man with a history of mental disease allegedly killed two females.

21 Jan 98,Chinese shops are attacked in the East Java town of Jemberfollowing increases in the prices of basic goods.

10 Feb 98,Several Chinese-owned shops are targeted in two days of riots and looting in Ende on Flores Island. Hundreds of Indonesian Chinese seek sanctuary with the military and police.

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Persecution of Chinese in Indonesia

Persecution of Chinese in Indonesia