Subject: RT: Indonesia's Chinese at a crossroads
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 10:11:21 -0400
From: "John M. Miller" <etan@etan.org>Thursday July 16, 5:13 am
Eastern Time ANALYSIS-Indonesia's Chinese at a crossroads By Ian MacKenzie
JAKARTA, July 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia's minority Chinese community, the target of
vicious attacks during May riots that helped topple Suharto as president, appear to be at
a crossroads in a nation where they have traditionally dominated commerce.
Sources close to the Chinese community say they are fearful that violence could erupt
again as the nation's year-old economic collapse sends prices and unemployment soaring.
``There is a palpable sense of fear that something may erupt again later this year,''
one source said.
Political analysts say the administration needs to regain the confidence of the Chinese
community and woo back billions of dollars in ``flight money'' moved out of the country as
the economy tumbled, in order to reassure other foreign investors.
``Without the confidence of the Chinese, it will be very difficult to regain foreign
confidence,'' one analyst said.
The Chinese, who established their position as traders during the Dutch colonial era
and tightened their grip on the economy in cooperation with Suharto during his 32 years in
power, have been traditional targets for attack during times of hardship.
But the riots in May that contributed to Suharto's downfall were different in the way
in which they appear to have been orchestrated. It is not yet clear just who was
responsible.
Chinese property was looted and burned in Jakarta and other cities, while President
B.J. Habibie -- Suharto's vice-president who replaced him on May 21 -- has described the
rapes of Chinese women as an ``inhuman episode in the history of the nation.''
About 1,200 people were killed in the riots in Jakarta, many in burning shopping malls,
while human rights groups say nearly 170 Chinese women were systematically targeted for
rape, of whom about 20 subsequently died.
Tens of thousands of people fled the country. Many returned, but not all.
Habibie has pledged an independent inquiry into the riots, alongside probes already
ordered by the military, which had basically stood aside during the three days of mayhem.
But political and economic analysts say that despite statements of government concern,
the Chinese community -- comprising only about four percent of the nation's 200 million
people -- regards the situation in the country with apprehension.
Even the government in Beijing, which sources say has been under pressure from the
Chinese community in Indonesia to react, has finally expressed its concern.
``China is concerned and sympathetic with the suffering experienced by the Indonesians
of Chinese origin during the riots which occurred in Indonesia in May,'' Foreign Ministry
spokesman Tang Guoqiang said this week.
Diplomatic sources in the region say other Southeast Asian countries -- particularly
neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia -- are also deeply concerned over the threat of
instability in Indonesia.
Their nightmare scenario is a flood of native Indonesians seeking to escape economic
hardship, and of Chinese political refugees fleeing persecution.
Habibie's government has offered the Chinese some concessions. For example, removing
codes identifying Indonesian Chinese on their identity cards.
``However, the government must guarantee measures for our safety, meaning that
enforcement of anti-discrimination laws must be taken seriously,'' said a Chinese
entrepreneur in the North Sumatran capital of Medan -- scene of serious riots in April and
May.
But he said that at the moment, the Chinese community in Medan, one of Indonesia's key
commodity centres, was still looking to invest in the area.
Top businessmen closely identified with the Suharto era and the accumulation of wealth
through their political contacts face problems in the new reformist climate.
Sources close to the Chinese community said some Chinese business leaders were
realigning and repositioning themselves following the change in government.
But there are also suggestions that the era of Chinese commercial dominance is over,
and that native, primarily Moslem, Indonesians will take advantage of the economic crisis
and political change to assert themselves.
``Indonesians won political independence (from the Dutch) 50 years ago. Now native
Indonesians are seeking their economic independence,'' one business leader commented.
He predicted that Indonesia's business community would have a different face in 10
years time, with domestic economic control primarily in the hands of native Indonesians.
Higher education levels at home and the return of well-educated Indonesians from
abroad, globalisation and the communications revolution were all factors in this.
``The Chinese will be employees, not owners,'' he suggested. ``Big (Chinese)
businessmen will migrate and come back as foreign investors, not in management but with
equity portfolios or as minority shareholders.''
He added, however, that the Chinese were likely to retain a position in the export
trade due to their expertise and overseas contacts.
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