Families of 1998 riot victims still seeking truth

DOZENS of family members of the victims of the May 1998 riots staged a mass prayer and flower-laying ceremony at the front of Citra Mall on Jl. I Gusti Ngurah Rai in Klender, East Jakarta.

The group, mostly women from nearby Penggilingan, Kampung Bulak, Klender and Kampung Pulo, gathered at 8am to pray for loved ones who died in the shopping mall, previously known as Yogya Plaza, which were among many malls with casualties during the riots.

Ruyati Darwin, 70, said the mass prayer had been annually performed since 1999. Ruyati lost his eldest son Eten Karyana who previously studied French literature at the University of Indonesia.

“It has been 18 years but the case has been left unresolved,” said Ruyati. She demanded President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo fulfill his promise to shed light onto the cases.

“We are all tired (of empty promises),” she was quoted by tempo.co.

Until now, the government has refrained from stating an official number of victims from the riots, where the figure varies from one source to another.

The report of the joint-fact finding team (TGPF), a team dedicated to finding the truth about the alleged violation of human rights surrounding the May riots, found that the total number of fatalities in Jakarta ranged from 288 to 1,217. — The Jakarta Post/ Asia News Network