A Message of Hope From a Colonial-Era Massacre

Jakarta Globe, May 10, 2011

A total of 70 actors, mainly from the Mister and Miss Jakarta Association
(IANTA), staged a play about a massacre of ethnic Chinese by the Dutch
on Oct. 9, 1740. (Antara Photo)

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Theater-goers were treated to a story of love, tragedy and comedy over the weekend — not to mention a particularly good-looking cast to watch on stage.

Based on a true story from Jakarta’s history, the musical theater production “Sangkala 9/10” was staged by the Mister and Miss Jakarta Association (IANTA) at Taman Ismail Marzuki’s Teater Jakarta from Friday to Sunday.

A cast of 70 actors, most alumni of Mister and Miss Jakarta contests, put on five shows over the weekend to an estimated 5,000 audience members.

A number of big names were also involved in the production, including former Mister Jakarta and TV personality Indra Bekti, radio host Iwet Ramadhan and actor Teuku Zacky.

Producer Maudy Koesnaedi, who is also a former Miss Jakarta, said the show aimed to highlight a story from Jakarta’s past to point a way forward for the future.

Based on true events that took place in Batavia, as Jakarta was once known, the play told the tragic story of a massacre carried out by the Dutch at nightfall on Oct. 9, 1740 — giving the show its title, “sangkala,” or “twilight,” and “9/10,” the date of the massacre.

Thousands of Chinese, mostly working in the city as businesspeople, were killed by the Dutch colonists, who also attempted to influence the local Betawi people to help them eradicate the Chinese from the city.

However, their attempts were destined to fail, as the Betawi people decided to work together with the Chinese and fight back against the Dutch.

Amid the conflict in the play, a love story blossomed between two young people: Said, a Betawi man, and Lily, an ethnic Chinese woman. Their heroic efforts to unite their love, along with the two ethnic groups, served as the center point for the show.

Director Adjie Nur Ahmad said the story had been chosen because it reflected contemporary problems faced by the country.

“We have seen how Indonesians today are easily manipulated in the name of difference,” Adjie said, adding that this had led to many bloody conflicts in the country.

“What we are supposed to do is fight wrongdoing and support what is right, not the other way around,” he said.

To illustrate the moral of the story, the play was given the tagline “Berbeda Bukan Berarti Tak Perlu Dibela” (“Being Different Doesn’t Mean They Shouldn’t Be Defended”).

Maudy, the producer, said that she especially hoped the younger people in the audience had grasped the core message of the play.

“Instead of going to the mall every weekend, we believe theater could be a perfect alternative form of entertainment for the young,” she said. “Through this show, we would like to present a different side of the Betawi people.”

TV personality Indra, who played a Betawi character named Kosim, said he learned so much from the production — including a few basic moves of “silat,” Indonesia’s traditional martial art.

“I think this is a great theater production, I’m having so much fun,” Indra said.

Unlike his job on TV, which allows for a lot of improvisation, the theater role posed the challenge of a set script.

“I had to keep reminding myself that I needed to follow the script and all the rules,” he laughed.

Drawing a bigger crowd than both of IANTA’s previous performances, “Cinta Dasima” (“Dasima’s Love”) in 2009 and last year’s “Doel,” “Sangkala 9/10” was judged a success by Maudy.

Maudy also expressed hope that, after three productions, IANTA would continue to build on its success.

“We hope this can be a long-term project and that we can produce more shows in the future,” she said.

Gay man seeking asylum: I can't return to Indonesia

CNN News, By Sarah Hoye, February 15, 2011

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Anton Tanumihardja came to the U.S. from Indonesia in 2002
• He applied for asylum because of his sexual orientation
• He faced deportation on Valentine's Day, but got a last-minute reprieve
• His attorney says his case spotlights inequalities for same-sex couples applying for asylum

Philadelphia (CNN) -- Anton Tanumihardja had his bags packed, anxious about his flight back to his home country, Indonesia. It was a trip he did not want to make after spending the past eight years in the United States.

Anton Tanumihardja has applied for asylum,
fearing persecution for his sexual orientation
in Indonesia.

He feared his absence would mean the end for his relationship with his boyfriend. In a bitter twist, he would be leaving on the night of Valentine's Day.

At the last minute came a temporary reprieve: Federal immigration officials issued a stay of deportation just three hours before his flight was to take off.

Tanumihardja, who is openly gay, has filed for political asylum, fearing persecution if he is forced to return to Indonesia. He says his homeland is not tolerant of homosexuals.

Although the order gives Tanumihardja more time in Philadelphia, it does not guarantee he can stay forever. It remains in effect until authorities decide whether to reopen his political asylum application.

Tanumihardja, 45, came to the United States in 2002 with a tourist visa from Jakarta, Indonesia. After his visa expired, he filed for political asylum and received a work permit while his case was being reviewed.

When his asylum application and subsequent appeals were denied, immigration authorities told him he had to leave on Monday.

"I got a lot of support from the people who love me and want me to stay," Tanumihardja said before breaking down into tears. "I do not expect anything in return from this country. I just want my status to be legal here."

In addition to his sexual orientation, Tanumihardja is ethnic Chinese and Catholic, making his return to Indonesia more daunting because he would be a triple minority in the predominantly Muslim country.

"Going back to my country means I have to be closed," he said, referring to his sexual orientation. "I cannot come out in my country and have to be hiding who I am."

The root issues of Tanumijardja's case are more complicated than simply deporting someone for an overstayed visa or denying a political asylum application, according to his attorney, Lavi Soloway.

The case sits at the intersection of gay rights and immigration reform, he says.

"Our whole immigration system, 80% of the cases are based on family unification, it's about keeping the family together," Soloway said. "But this just doesn't register with the LGBT community. It's a reflection of anti-gay discrimination."

Tanumihardja started dating Brian Andersen last fall, and they have been inseparable ever since.

Andersen, 28, is an American citizen. If they were heterosexual and planned to marry, Tanumihardja could possibly have been sponsored for residency, Soloway argues.

Under current U.S. law, the sponsorship option does not exist for same-sex couples.

Tanumihardja, who has a degree in accounting and marketing, works at Coventry Deli in downtown Philadelphia where he also doubles as the bookkeeper.

He will continue his fight to stay, he said.

"I do my best for this county, I love this country," he said.

Soloway says he fears for Tanumihardja if he is forced to return to Indonesia.

"He is a gay man who has had the opportunity to live openly as a gay man in Philadelphia. And now he's going back to live where in order to survive, you cannot be open," Soloway said. "We guard against taking for granted our freedom to be with those we love."

The last-minute stay of deportation has Tanumihardja and Andersen relieved, but cautious.

"This is the best we could of hoped for at this point," Andersen said after hearing the news. "It's something that is very real and happening."

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Members of committee of the Q! Film Festival install banners during pre-festival preparations in Jakarta on September 24, 2010. A gay film festival hailed as the biggest in Asia and the only one in the Muslim world kicks off in Indonesia on September 24, hoping to draw 15,000 viewers to screenings and fringe events. In its ninth annual edition, the Q! Film Festival will showcase 150 films from more than 20 countries including France, Japan and the Philippines, highlighting such issues as gay rights and HIV/AIDS. (AFP)

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Piece of Mind: A Delayed Return to Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, Tita Alissa Listyowardojo | December 13, 2010

There is a dilemma almost every Indonesian living overseas faces at one point or another: fight to stay abroad or fly back to their beloved country?

As a young Indonesian, I believe that being abroad offers me more freedom and opportunity, especially in my career as a researcher. It also makes me feel like I’m constantly on an “adventure.”

As a Chinese-Indonesian woman abroad, I do not see the difference between living abroad or in Indonesia because I feel that I belong nowhere.

This feeling of disconnection from my home country is related to my painful memories of the May 1998 riots in my hometown of Jakarta, which targeted Chinese-Indonesian people and property.

Philosophically speaking, I feel like I can “belong” anywhere.

I have been questioned a lot by my Indonesian friends and extended family about why I choose to live abroad.

Have I forgotten about my widowed mother in Jakarta?

Have I become unpatriotic?

Have I forgotten where I come from?

No, I have not.

I think about those things every day.

But living is about choosing what is best for yourself.

If I had returned home years ago, after throwing away what was possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and had become unhappy with my life, who would I have to blame?

Those who matter to me support my decision. Period.

In addition, I still need to answer the question, “How far can I go?”

I can always go home, but the opportunity to do research abroad may not come again.

But now, my research contract with a University in the Netherlands is almost finished.

Once more, I am faced with the possibility of having to go home if I do not find another job in the near future.

Trying to stay abroad could be a bumpy road.

For example, I’d have to find an institution willing to obtain a working permit for me.

Or I have to compete with other scholars from developed countries who speak perfect English and are used to being charming and selling themselves.

Although the expense of issuing a working permit may not be a problem for most institutions that employ highly educated expatriates, the problem is that most institutions do not want to go through the hassle of immigration paperwork.

In Europe, most countries have employment procedures that favor local hires over candidates from other European countries, not to mention developed countries such as the United States, Australia or England.

Obviously, candidates from developing countries have an even more difficult time.

On the one hand, going home means being able to embrace my friends and family.

But I have to ask myself, is this option right for me now, having left home for so many years?

How will I adapt back into the culture?

What kind of work can I get in research?

Will this work be properly funded?

Will having a high-level degree help my career in Indonesia, or will it just make me overqualified?

What about all the friendships I’ve made, the networks I’ve established and the efforts I’ve put into building my career in Europe?

Should I return to Indonesia, I think I’ll be able to face all these daunting questions.

My survival skills will kick in and help me to acclimatize.

But they are bugging me now.

There was a time when I thought I’d go back to my home country eventually.

It was when I was in a relationship with another Indonesian.

The idea of getting back together with him provided a strong incentive to return home.

However, when our decision to get married did not get “family approval” due to ethnic and religious differences, we decided to respect our families by separating.

After that, I immediately fell back into my old pattern of thinking.

Those questions nagged me, confirming that I should stay abroad as long as possible.

Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist and Noble Prize winner in Economics, suggests that negative memories have a disproportionate effect on our decision-making processes.

For example, if you go on an enjoyable trip but have one bad experience, that one bad memory might be enough to make you not want to visit that place again.

As everybody knows, human memory is flawed and bad memories tend to have a longer shelf life than good.

I might have more bad memories about Indonesia than good ones, but I might have also overlooked bad experiences that happened to me outside Indonesia.

At any rate, I intend to fight for my place abroad.

If I can’t hold out, at least I know I still have a home waiting, well ... at home.

Despite everything, that’s still a comfort.

Tita Alissa Listyowardojo is a researcher based in the Netherlands.

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I’m not Chinese, I’m INDONESIAN Chinese

US admires democracy in Indonesia

Antara News, Wednesday, October 20, 2010 14:38 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - US Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel admires Indonesian democracy for more than ten years.

In a meeting with Regional Representatives Council (DPD) chairman Irman Gusman here on Tuesday, Marciel said Indonesia had successfully made political reform and reordered the state system.

According to Marciel, Indonesia`s success in political field would strengthen economic development because it was supported with political stability, harmonious relation between central and regional governments, and the diversity of tribes, races, and religions.

The US envoy also admired harmonious relations of Islam and democracy in Indonesia.

To his guest on the occasion, Irman Gusman also explained democratic progress in Indonesia.

He said Indonesia is pluralist and multi-culture country with a variety of ethnicity and cultures, but has equality in perspective and values because it is bound with the four state pillars, namely Pancasila, 1945 Constitution, Unity in Diversity, and NKRI (the unitary state of the republic of Indonesia).

"Indonesia`s success to be the third largest democratic country in the world is inseparable from its open attitude to public transparency and accountability," Irman said.

He also expressed hope that the already good cooperation relation between Indonesia and the United States could be strengthened even more, especially the "strategic partnership" in the fields of economy, politics, social, and culture.

Eligibility of Soeharto, nine other figures to get national hero status assessed

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 10/17/2010 2:03 PM

The government has proposed late former president Soeharto and nine other deceased figures to get national hero status to the Honor and Service Council, Cabinet secretary Dipo Alam said in Jakarta Sunday.

Dipo said that the proposal, made by the Ministry of Social Service, was being assessed by the Honor and Service Council before being decided by the President.

“It’s not true that one Pak Harto will get the national hero status. There are nine others who are being proposed by the Ministry of Social Service,” Dipo said as quoted by kompas.com.

The nine other figures, said Dipo, who is also the former student activist in the 1970s, include late noted ulema and former president Abdurrahman Wahid, former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin and J. Leimena.

Soeharto and nine other figures are part of 18 previously proposed by the Ministry of Social Service, Dipo said.

“Let’s think positively. The government will process them in line with the proposal from the public by taking into consideration their contributions to the country during their lives,” he added.

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Conflict in Tarakan displaces 32,000 people

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 09/29/2010 8:53 PM | Archipelago

About 32,000 have been displaced by days of ethnic conflict in the Eask Kalimantan city of Tarakan.

The refugees are being sheltered at police and military facilities as well as school buildings across the city, a security officer said on Wednesday.

One of the displaced people, Rini, said she and her family sought shelter at the Tarakan police headquarters for safety reasons. “We feel secure here rather than staying at home,” she said as quoted by kompas.com.

Earlier in the day, Mayor Udin Hianggio visited the displaced people in a number of refugee centers to appease them.

“Please be patient. I, the police chief, security authorities and the governor will solve the problem as soon as possible so that peace and order can be restored,” he told the refugees.

At least three people have been killed in the clashes between indigenous Dayak ethnic group and Bugis migrants, which erupted on Sunday night.

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Group to propose bill on indigenous people’s rights

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 08/11/2010 10:01 AM

Activists say they will plan to submit a draft bill on the rights of indigenous peoples to the House of Representatives by Aug. 20.

“Aside from the draft bill, we will present legislators with legal reviews, academic analysis, and summaries of issues related to Indonesia’s indigenous peoples,” Mahir Takaka, director of economic and socio-cultural programs for the Alliance of Archipelagic Indigenous People told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The alliance was in the process of finalizing a draft bill before formally asking legislators to approve it in 2011, Mahir said.

“We presented the draft bill to the House on Nov. 11, 2009. We are still consolidating input from other communities and are documenting their recommendations and concerns,” Mahir added.

“The input will be included in the draft bill,” Mahir said, adding that legislators had promised to prioritize the bill’s deliberation as part of the 2010-2014 national legislative agenda.

It would be the nation’s first bill to recognize and protect the rights of  indigenous peoples. The bill proposes that the government and business sector are required to acknowledge and protect indigenous land rights, existing rights to natural resources, traditional laws and institutions, local knowledge and traditional social and cultural practices.

“The current laws, such as the 1999 Forestry Law and the 2007 Management of Coastal Territories and Small Islands Law only vaguely address indigenous issues,” Mahir said, adding that these laws did not provide sufficient protection for marginalized traditional communities.

The alliance is competing with a similar bill drafter by the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) Committee I, which Mahir believes does not adequately accommodate the aspirations of traditional communities.

“The draft bill circulated by the DPD committee needs revision because it doesn’t clearly define what indigenous communities actually are, nor does it consider the current state of customary land rights and philosophical perspectives,” Mahir said.  

According to the alliance, Indonesia is home to between 50 and 70 million indigenous people, which is the largest indigenous population in Asia. Most live in remote forest areas and are often in conflict with authorities and businesses due to lack of formal rights.

Indonesia has ratified the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, but has yet to demonstrate its commitment in its national policies, alliance secretary-general Abdon Nababan said.

“The amended Constitution says the state recognizes and respects customary communities and their traditional rights. On this basis, the country must provide a legal umbrella that protects such communities and their wellbeing,” Abdon said on Aug. 9, at the commemoration of the International Day of World Indigenous Peoples held at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) in East Jakarta. (tsy)

Gruesome Video Claims to Shed Light on Indonesian Security Forces in Papua

Jakarta Globe, Robin McDowell, August 04, 2010

Papuan protesters take part in a rally demanding an independence referendum outside the US Embassy in Jakarta in 2007. A shocking video that allegedly shows a Papuan activist being killed by Indonesian security forces has been published on the Internet and is attracting international coverage. (AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah, File)

Jakarta. The jumpy video shows a prisoner lying in a jungle clearing in eastern Indonesia moments after troops allegedly sliced open his abdomen with a bayonet, sending intestines tumbling from his stomach.

Using the little life he has left in him, Yawen Wayeni lifts his arm into the air, and says weakly, “Freedom! Papua ... Freedom!”

At the sound of his muffled voice, gun-toting, uniformed officers resting in the shade approach.

“Speak up,” one taunts. “What? You all are never going to get freedom. As long as there are soldiers still.”

One year after the activist’s death, footage being circulated online is providing a glimpse into the actions of Indonesia’s military in Papua, where an estimated 100,000 people have been killed since the former Dutch colony was integrated into the country nearly 50 years ago.

A low-level insurgency in the province remains an extremely sensitive issue for the government, which restricts access to foreign journalists, human rights workers and academics, making it difficult to verify claims of abuse.

Police have said Wayeni, captured for allegedly vandalizing several of their buildings and vehicles, was shot in the thigh and stomach while resisting arrest and that he died on the way to the hospital.

Harkristuti Harkrisnowo, a director general at Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights, said on Tuesday that she was unaware of the video but promised to investigate.

Indonesia has made tremendous strides toward democracy since emerging from decades of dictatorship under Gen. Suharto in 1998. Citizens today can vote directly for president and the country has been praised for reforms that have freed the media and vastly improved human rights.

But government critics in Papua are still given lengthy prison terms for peacefully expressing their views, organizing rallies or simply raising separatist flags. Many say they have been tortured in detention with electric shocks, beatings and cigarette burns.

The central government, which granted Papua special autonomy in 2001, denies such atrocities still take place. An Amnesty International report cited incidents of torture, excessive force and executions by security forces in Papua last year.

Others said the killing points to the persistence of violence in governing the far-flung, desperately poor region.

“For all their talk about how things have changed since Suharto’s days, this particular murder is just another example reminding us how much remains the same,” said Richard Chauvel, a senior lecturer at Victoria University in Australia who has written extensively about Papua.

The video also points to broader feelings that special autonomy — which gives Papuans greater control over their budget and economy — has done little to address key issues driving attitudes in the province.

Thousands have turned out in the streets in recent months demanding that candidates for elected office at the sub-provincial level be indigenous Papuans, something senior officials in Jakarta flatly rejected as “discriminatory,” exacerbating tensions.

Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank, said government leaders, with few exceptions, “do not understand that the only way to stem an independence movement is through serious attention to political issues.

“At the same time, the Papuans themselves tend to blame Jakarta for everything that has gone wrong, without too much introspection what they themselves could do.”

This is a huge gap, she said, that can only be bridged if high-level discussions are held about political issues.

Others believe outside pressure is required.

Fifty members of the United States Congress signed a letter calling on President Barack Obama to make Papua — the half of New Guinea that was invaded by Indonesia in 1962 — “one of the highest priorities of the administration.”

Even so, as part of efforts to shore up influence in the region amid increasing challenges from China, Washington last month lifted a decadelong ban on military assistance to a notoriously violent commando unit, known as Kopassus, which operates in Papua.

The seven-minute video appears to have been made by the Korps Brigade Mobil, or Brimob, the paramilitary police who took part in the arrest. It too has a legacy of abuse in Papua.

It’s not clear how the clip made its way to the Internet, and few here have seen it.

The troops caught up with Wayeni at his home in the jungle village of Matembu on Aug. 3, 2009.

Wayeni’s wife told the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence that they tied his arms and legs to a log and forced him to chant “Free Papua!” before slicing him in the abdomen with a bayonet.

They all but ignored him as he stumbled to the ground, landing in a patch of rough grass and propping his head up on a log.

“Look, he’s tired,” one officer says as the prisoner’s head lolls back, his eyes rolling.

The police ask Wayeni if he is an atheist and call him a “savage,” saying his prayers will never be answered. They then ask how, in his condition, he thinks Papua will ever shake free of Indonesian rule.

“It’s equally surreal and horrific watching as the grievously injured Yawan Wayeni answers teasing questions from uniformed Indonesia security forces about his political beliefs,” said Phil Robertson, a deputy director at the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

Getting medical help, he notes, seems the furthest thing from their minds.

Despite his suffering, however, the dying man refuses to give in.

“This land was promised by God to us, the Papuan people,” Wayeni says. “God, the suffering of the simple people, there are so many! They are crying, oh God!”

Associated Press

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Intimidation of Indonesian Journalists Nothing New

In Indonesia, 1998 violence against ethnic Chinese remains unaddressed

Twelve years after the ouster of President Suharto, who was believed to have encouraged racial attacks, ethnic Chinese have seen their lot improve but many say they are still treated like outsiders.

By John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times, July 4, 2010, Reporting from Jakarta, Indonesia

Ruminah winces as she recalls the afternoon a mob ransacked her tiny hair salon, smashing windows and destroying both the business and her faith in justice in her homeland.

Ruminah, an Indonesian of Chinese descent,
says her son, who died in a fire set by looters
in 1998, was killed because he looked Chinese.
(John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times
/ July 3, 2010)

More than a decade later, the reason she was attacked still haunts her: She is part Chinese.

In May 1998, during two deadly days of racially fueled mayhem, rioters killed 1,000 people and raped 87 women, most of Chinese descent. Others cowered in their homes as the rape squads, reportedly led by army thugs, roamed the streets of Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.

The petite Ruminah, who, like many here, goes by one name, lost more than her shop that day. Her developmentally disabled son was killed in a fire set by looters at a nearby mall.

"I'm not a smart person," said Ruminah, 54, an Indonesian-born Muslim whose grandmother married a Chinese merchant here, "but I know my son died that day because he looked Chinese."

Many of the 5 million ethnic Chinese here, who represent a scant 2% of the population in this predominantly Muslim nation of 248 million, have for years awaited the results of a government investigation of the attacks. Twelve years later, no arrests have been made.

The inquiry stalled years ago when investigators said they failed to find hard evidence of military involvement. The Indonesian government has recently suggested that it will no longer pursue the matter, despite lingering suspicions that the riots were instigated by soldiers influenced by the nation's political leadership.

Without an official report to the contrary, many Indonesians question whether the rapes even occurred.

For ethnic Chinese, long viewed as scapegoats for Indonesia's economic woes, life after the 1998 riots has been bittersweet. On one hand, more Chinese Indonesians have run for public office and a number of discriminatory laws have been repealed. Yet many still feel like unwanted outsiders, their community cast as a greedy merchant class with allegiances to Indonesia and China.

Without question, analysts say, there has been progress since the ouster of President Suharto, whose government required ethnic Chinese to adopt Indonesian names and banned Chinese characters and festivals.

After the dictator was forced from office in 1998, the year of the riots that many believe he fomented, Indonesia has encouraged the spread of Chinese culture.

"The lot of ethnic Chinese here has greatly improved since Suharto, but that doesn't mean the riots' underlying problems have been resolved," said Leo Suryadinata, a professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University who focuses on Chinese Indonesian issues. "Issues of poverty, ethnic tension and a gap between rich and poor that led to the violence are still very much alive."

Many say the rise of Islamic fundamentalism has further marginalized ethnic Chinese. In one rural province, clerics recently disrupted a Chinese parade, arguing that the noise of firecrackers and running dragons interfered with Muslim prayer rites.

"Many Indonesians still believe people with Chinese blood keep close allegiances to Beijing," said Andy Yentriyani, a leader of the National Commission on Violence Against Women. "The idea is that any freedoms or authority given the ethnic Chinese will come back to harm Indonesia."

Discrimination against ethnic Chinese here dates back centuries to the Dutch colonial era, when thousands were killed or forced into ghettos. Ethnic Chinese were also attacked in the Indonesian government's anti-communist purges of the mid-1960s.

In the 1980s came calls for Suharto to rein in numerous large Chinese business conglomerates that many argued controlled the economy. But while most ethnic Chinese were considered to be members of the wealthy merchant class, many were actually small-business men, shopkeepers or traders.

In Ruminah's lower-class street in East Jakarta, neighbors viewed her as Chinese, even though the mother of five has never truly identified with her Chinese roots. She can't speak Chinese and doesn't even know where in China to trace her roots.

"They would ask the same question: 'Why do you live here among the poor? We know that all the Chinese are rich,' " Ruminah recalled.

Local boys teased her 14-year-old son, Gunawan, but not because of his learning disability.

"They harassed him because he looked Chinese," she said. "He would come home crying, and my husband would tell him to ignore the taunts. He said they were just words."

That changed during the 1998 Asian financial crisis, when mobs took to the streets and attacked ethnic Chinese they blamed for the economic downturn. Many analysts believe Suharto encouraged the violence to take the pressure off his government for the loss of jobs and rising prices.

On the first night, Ruminah went looking for her son, who had gone to watch a fire at a local mall. Later, wearing a mask to guard against the stench, she inspected hundreds of corpses laid out in the parking lot outside the mall.

She never found him. "I only have his burned clothes," she said, her voice breaking.

For years, Indonesia was viewed as a perilous place for ethnic Chinese. In 2004, a U.S. court granted political asylum to an Indonesian national of Chinese descent who claimed that a return to her homeland would amount to a death sentence. She was just one among the tens of thousands of Chinese Indonesians who have fled the country.

Even now, as ethnic Chinese citizens run for office, prejudices continue.

Sofyan Tan was recently defeated in a run for mayor in the city of Medan, the capital of northern Sumatra. In an interview, the city's first Chinese Indonesian political candidate said opponents waged a campaign to scare voters into believing he would sell the nation to China.

"More hard work is required to show that leadership cannot be based on race and religion," he said.

Activists say there are new efforts at national healing. Prabowo Subianto, the former son-in-law of Suharto, met last summer with ethnic Chinese to publicly explain for the first time that he was not involved in the mayhem.

"Many are still ambivalent about his story," said Jemma Purdey, a research fellow at the Center of Southeast Asian Studies at Monash University in Australia. "But if you meet someone and they tell you straight to your face they didn't have part in things, you have to respect that."

Last fall, government officials also met with historians to draft language for Indonesian school textbooks acknowledging that the anti-ethnic Chinese bloodshed actually happened.

"The scar from that violence remains," said Yentriyani, the commission leader. "How much Indonesians want to heal it, depends on who you talk to."

For now, Ruminah isn't taking any chances about the return of ethnic violence. She runs her beauty shop out of her home, where she feels more secure.

She has seen Muslim youths break off a relationship with her college-age daughter once they learn of her Chinese roots. And she misses her son, who never got the chance to come to terms with his Chinese heritage.

Still, she says, she won't follow the ethnic Chinese who have fled Indonesia since the riots.

"I'm not ashamed of who I am," she said. "This is my country. Where else can I go?"

john.glionna@latimes.com