A tragedy in denial
The May 1998 rape was not an ordinary rape story. Because the May 1998 rape was a form of political terror using the body and sexuality of Chinese women
On May 13, 1998 afternoon, Ita F Nadia just arrived at the headquarters of Kalyanamitra, Jalan kaca Jendela, Pancoran, South Jakarta.
Shortly after arriving, precisely at 19:00 pm, the office phone where he worked was ringing. When lifted, a familiar voice greeted him.
Ita's brother, there is a rape report, "said a man on the other end of the line. The man is Sandyawan Sumardi, or who is familiarly called Romo Sandy.
Sandy asks Ita to slide to the scene of the case in Glodok, West Jakarta, but Ita can not depart. As a replacement. He commissioned a member of the Kalyanamitra volunteer team, a communication and information center for women, to set out to meet Sandy on site.
When Kalyanamitra's staff was still on the way to the scene, Ita got another phone call. This time from different people. But the story is the same: there was rape. This time, its location is in Jembatan Dua and Jembatan Tiga area in North Jakarta, and Jembatan Lima, West Jakarta.
Ita decided to head to that location. On the way, Ita saw Jakarta was ravaged, arson and looting by groups of "unknown thugs" occurred not only in government offices, but also shops and shopping centers.
That night, he realized, the peak of unrest in the capital had begun.
"We were already panicking," Ita told Rappler on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, a dozen years after the incident. The panic he felt for three days, ie 12-14 May.
The pattern of rape that occurred at that time was almost the same. Victims were not only raped, but also attacked with hard objects, both sharp and dull.
Kalyanamitra volunteers also received reports of rape in Cengkareng Mall. The Kalyanamitra team received information that women there were not only raped but also sexually assaulted.
"Chinese mothers are attacked. So this is not about girls, but the problem is Chinese women, "said Ita.
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Lexy Rambadeta, the journalist who was then taking pictures for the Associated Press TV news agency, also heard news of a mob of men coming to an apartment in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK).
"They went downstairs, got rid of security, and the Chinese people were panicked," Lexy said.
Security officials briefed the ethnic Chinese living in the area. "Sorry, we can not help, we are outnumbered," he mimicked the words of a security guard.
The violent masses then combed the apartment floor to floor, raping and molesting every Chinese ethnic woman they met.
He also saw mobs intercept the Chinese in the streets. If there are women among them, immediately carried off. "Until the shirt is torn, there's a tape on the Australian ABC station," he said.
In the midst of the rape of the majority of Chinese women victims, Kalyanamitra and Sandy eventually established the Volunteer Team for Humanity for Violence Against Women (TRKP).
Ita himself was appointed as the coordinator, and the headquarters of Kalyanamitra became a gathering place.
Shortly after the formation of TRKP, the volunteer team immediately opened the reporting hotline. They announced three hotline numbers to the public at a press conference.
In addition, the TRKP team also announced the opening of vacancies to volunteer.
"Housewives, students, employees, flocked to volunteer. We then made a kind of shift that guarded the phone for 24 hours. Because reception of telephone reporting should not stop, "said Ita.
In addition, teams also share assignments. There are investigations to the field, documentation, counseling, and assessment.
"After the reporting opened, the phone kept ringing," he said.
Pick up the rape victim
After the reporting opened, it is now the volunteer team's job to collect the rape victims. The team picked up one by one rape victims at the scene.One of the two victims was the female students of the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Economics of Trisakti University. "When I came in a house, near the church, there was already a pastor and two female students who suffered injuries to the breast," Ita said.One of the victims said there was a Toyota Kijang passing by, then he was forcibly taken. He saw in the car there was a crew cut man. "She was not kissed, but her breasts were directly injured," Ita said.That night, Ita said, the team took the two girls to Soekarno-Hatta Airport to be flown to Singapore. Luckily, though both have no tickets and visas, there are private airlines who are willing to accommodate them.In addition, the team also picked up a rape victim who was rescued by the son of a religious leader. They called him Pak Haji."There is Pak Haji who helps Chinese women, he protects the woman in his home," said Ita.The most memorable Ita is when dealing with victims in Tangerang. The victim was a Chinese family consisting of his mother and two children. The first child is 18 years old and the second is 11 years old. All three are victims of rape.All three eventually died. "Her mother died on May 17, her brother died on May 19, and the youngest died on May 21," Ita said.Ita had waited for the most distended victims due to heavy bleeding. "He then died in my arms," he said quietly for a moment.Ita continued, in this pickup, the team coordinates with religious communities, such as Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, and Confucianism.The goal is to provide temporary shelters for victims."But before we will ask, where they are comfortable, because this is a political problem, then the number one we think is security first," he said.Number two, says Ita, is the handling of rape victims. While number three, recovery.In the pick-up, the team always insisted that the victim should not be at home, because of the high risk to his security and his family."Since there was one case in Kemayoran, he did not want us to bring, what happened? He was murdered, "he said
Arrange data of rape victims for UN and President Habibie
After the disaster, the team immediately arrange data related to rape and sexual assault that majority experienced by Chinese women. It turned out that the victims not only spread in Jakarta, but also in Medan and Surabaya.Of the three cities, the team recorded more than 150 women as victims of rape accompanied by torture, sexual assault and sexual harassment. Victim data will be submitted to the Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF) established by President BJ Habibie.Ita and the team of volunteers did not stop just storing the data, they took it to two parties that are expected to lift the case. First, report to the United Nations (UN). And second, submit the data to President Habibie.Attempts to bring the case to the United Nations began on 27 May after the New Order ruler Soeharto fell. Ita flies to Colombo, Sri Lanka, to meet the special rapporteur of women violence, Radhika Coomaraswary.The meeting was fruitful. The Indonesian team was asked to find an organization in Asia that could facilitate the report. Finally selected Asia Pacific Women Law and Development based in Bangkok, Thailand."There I brought all the documents about the May 1998 rape, including the names of the victims and how it was rape," Ita said.Radhika then made a report to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights based in Geneva, Switzerland. "The report was accepted as a crime against humanity, and became a kind of special attention from the UN High Commission," Ita said.Not only the rape cases of May 1998, but also the same cases in Aceh and Timor Leste.The UN then ordered Radhika to conduct an investigation in Indonesia. In September-October 1998, Radhika came to Indonesia and conducted an investigation.Meanwhile, the team in Indonesia along with another volunteer team member, Saparinah Sadli, attempted to meet President Habibie on July 15, 1998.Initially, Saparinah was first contacted by the protocol of the State Palace. He also invited all volunteer teams to meet Habibie at 14:00 noon.During the meeting, Habibie insisted the country could not apologize for the incident that happened to Chinese women at that time.Habibie's statement was then recorded in the Komnas Perempuan publication related to the May 1998 rape case entitled Undeniably.
Presidential dialogue lasted for two hours. The volunteer group determined that the state should investigate the case.
Until finally Habibie's attitude changed. Precisely, after Habibie recalls that his brother had revealed the same incident. "Yes, I remember, one of my brothers told me the same thing. He will not lie to me, "Habibie said.
After the conversation, Habibie immediately changed the decision, to make General Sintong Panjaitan who accompanied him surprised.
"Sir, does this need not be discussed in the meeting first?" Sintong protested.
Habibie replied, "Can I have my own opinion? I happen to agree with the mothers of this public figure, "he said.
At that time, Habibie asked one of the team members to type a state apology draft which also listed recommendations for the formation of TGPF and the National Anti-Women Commission
A team of volunteers joined the TGPF Team. The team members consist of various elements, including the police and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).Ita and Saparinah belong to the team. But on the way, Ita decided to resign."Because of that time, Da'i Bachtiar from the police force forced him to meet the victim. He asked where the victim was and asked me to show the victim, "Ita Ita.In fact, the team has agreed not to meet victims. "But Pak Da'i Bachtiar and some police officers insist, if there are no victims, then there is no rape according to them," he said.The TGPF then produced a conclusion without Ita's presence."It can not be ascertained that the sexual violence that occurred was a planned activity or simply the excesses of the riots. No facts were found on the existence of religious aspects in cases of sexual violence. It is also concluded that all rape cases found or reported can be processed legally and promptly, "read the conclusions in the TGPF document.After that, the volunteer team got a counterattack from a government official. The team of volunteers is said to have embarrassed their own country in the eyes of the international. They were urged to revoke the report at the United Nations.The attack was also received by the team from the Minister of Women Empowerment and Child Protection Tuty Alawiyah. Tuty had accused Ita of lying about rape.
Grief for Ita Martadinata
A few months later, in October 1998, a team of volunteers was struck again by the killing of the only witness to the UN who was also the victim of the May 1998 rape, Ita Martadinata.Ita was then asked to become a witness by the United Nations. Wiwin Haryono, Ita Martadinata's mother, allowed her 18-year-old daughter to go to the United States to testify. Mass media at that time did not escape to preach this news.A week before departing, Ita Martadinata, who is still in the 2nd grade of Senior High School (SMA) undergoing activities as usual. After school, he went home.When Ita Martadinata came home, the young girl went up to the second floor to her room.Apparently in the room was waiting for a man who then attacked him with sharp objects. Ita Martadinata died instantly. His body was found face down.His body was immediately taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital. After the divisum, the hospital doctor, Mun'im Idris, instead of uncovering the findings about the wound suffered by Ita, but instead issued a statement that the witness to the UN was suffering from sexual disorders.The results of this autopsy make the team of volunteers growled. The team sued the autopsy to court.
Buried with bitter memories of the victims
After the death of Ita Martadinata, no more witnesses and victims were able to provide information at the UN. Reports at the UN also can not continue, because the state refuses to admit.Yet the volunteer team is not broken. They continue to fight for victims until 2007.But the voices of justice for the victims began to quiet. The victim finally chose to mute and find their own version of the settlement.A victim, Siska (not her real name), who was flown to Singapore gradually recovered. After he was healthy again, he told his escort, not wanting to return to Indonesia. He is still traumatized.But he sent a message about the events that happened to him and hundreds of other Chinese women."Until now I can not believe it. Why just because of the change of president, there are a handful of people who have the heart to rape Chinese and burn Chinese homes? Why would anyone naked and raped a woman like a beast? Though Chinese, I am Indonesian! Makco and my great-grandfather were born in Indonesia! "Said Siska."My skin is white, my eyes are slanted. Is that why I should be treated differently? "He said again.Currently, he continues to struggle to forget the unfortunate events that happened to him in May 1988 ago. He claims he does not want to hate anyone.In the meantime, Ita F Nadia gave a note regarding this rape case. He said the rape of Chinese women was not an ordinary rape. He believes this rape is done by a group of people who are trained.Rape is also not an ordinary story. Because the May 1998 rape was a form of political terror using the body and sexuality of Chinese women.
This report was prepared with material from the Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF) report and Komnas Perempuan publication related to the May 1998 rape case entitled "Undeniable".
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