Emulate Jokowi in finding truth behind May 13 race riots

 

From Kua Kia Soong

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s expression of remorse over human rights abuses in the country committed between 1965 and 2003 did not go far enough to assuage the families of victims, but at least it showed that the Indonesian government had the political will to set up the “Non-Judicial Settlement Team for Serious Human Rights Violations.”

The team was formed to fulfil a promise Jokowi made after coming to power in 2014. The objective of the team is to provide relief to the victims of gross violations of human rights through non-judicial restitution measures, such as scholarships, medical aid and rehabilitation. However, the government has not ruled out a judicial settlement.

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Jokowi listed around 12 incidents in the country’s history for which he “expressed regret”.

These included the 1965-66 Indonesian mass killings of more than 500,000 alleged communists and ethnic Chinese, the 1988-89 torture of suspected insurgents in Aceh, and the 1997-98 disappearance of anti-government activists, among others.

Families of the victims have called for Indonesia to order a government effort to investigate these mass killings and to hold those responsible for the atrocities to account, to document mass graves, and to find their families and to set up a commission to decide what to do next.

Time for a May 13 truth and reconciliation commission

If Indonesia is prepared to reveal the truth about a massacre that happened in 1965, Malaysia under our “unity government” should be ready to face up to the truth behind the May 13, 1969 race riots when many innocent Malaysians were killed.

South Africa’s truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) can be a useful model for us to go about this process of healing.

South Africa’s TRC was established by the new South African government in 1995 to help bring about a reconciliation of its people by uncovering the truth about human rights violations that had occurred during the period of apartheid.

Its emphasis was on getting to the truth. The commission was open to the public and allowed victims or their loved ones to tell their story. These documented accounts then became public record, which helped deter the possibility of any denial of the history.

Likewise, Timor Leste (East Timor) had a commission for reception, truth and reconciliation established in 2001 under the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and charged to “inquire into human rights violations committed on all sides, between April 1974 and October 1999, and facilitate community reconciliation with justice”.

During its work, over 10,000 statements were taken from victims and perpetrators, and public hearings were held which were broadcast on TV and radio. The commission delivered its 2,500-page report covering human rights violations from 1974 to 1999.

The report found that East Timor had suffered massive human rights violations, including violations of the right to self-determination, killings, and disappearances, forced displacement and famine, detention and torture, violations of the laws of war, political trials, sexual violence, violations of the rights of the child, and violations of economic and social rights.

It determined that the death toll during Indonesian rule had been more than 100,000. It also concluded that most of the deaths had been the result of actions by the Indonesian army, and that the violence in 1999 was the result of a “systematic campaign orchestrated at the highest levels of the Indonesian government”.

Time to put to rest the ghost of May 13

Isn’t it time for a “May 13 TRC” to finally put to rest the ghost of May 13, to record our real history and to bring about meaningful reconciliation of our people once and for all?

For a start, our unity government could declassify all the documents that have been classified, especially those in the special branch vaults.

The spontaneous response from former special branch officers and other retired personnel as well as victims’ family members at the launch of my book in 2007 demonstrates amply that there are many people with very differing perspectives, yearning to have their stories told and heard.

Can we deny these now ageing participants in the actual May 13 tragedy an opportunity to do so?

A May 13 commission should try to shed light on what happened, to “restore the rights of victims in a fair and wise manner”, and thus help heal the nation’s wounds.

I urge Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to emulate President Jokowi’s example by setting up a truth and reconciliation commission on the May 13, 1969 race riots. Its report will put to rest all the myths and rumours that have been swirling since 1969. This would be welcomed as a most courageous and positive effort by his “unity government”.

Surely, after more than 50 years, we Malaysians have the maturity to confront this deeply disturbing tragedy in our real history and to understand that: “If we do not confront the past, we will not be able to move into the future.” - FMT

Kua Kia Soong is the author of “May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969″, a human rights defender and a former MP.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.