Kekerasan Anti-Tionghoa di Indonesia 1996 - 1999

ASAA Southeast Asian Publications Series

by Jemma Purdey

Jumlah etnis keturunan Tionghoa hanya dua sampai tiga persen dari total penduduk Indonesia, tetapi mereka mendominasi sektor ekonomi swasta negeri itu. Tindakan kekerasan terhadap kaum minoritas ini sering terjadi pada masa penjajahan, dan setelah periode yang cukup tenang tindakan kekerasan semacam ini kembali terulang pada tahun-tahun terakhir pemerintahan Orde Baru pimpinan Soeharto. Dalam studi pertama setebal buku mengenai kekerasan terhadap etnis Tionghoa selama kejatuhan rezim Soeharto, Jemma Purdey menghadirkan analisis mendalam pada insiden-insiden kekerasan penting saat periode transisi antara tahun 1996 hingga 1999 dan pada proses refleksi kebangsaan sesudahnya yang mencengangkan.

Kerusuhan massa yang menyertai jatuhnya rezim Soeharto bulan Mei 1998 membawa akibat buruk tidak hanya pada etnis Tionghoa, tetapi juga masyarakat pribumi. Penulis menempatkan kekerasan anti-Tionghoa ini pada konteks yang lebih luas, mempertimbangkan berbagai sebab dan peristiwa , dan juga suasana bagaimana kekerasan terjadi. Meskipun isu etnis dan ketidakadilan menjadi kajian utama, Jemma Purdey menyimpulkan bahwa wacana politik, ekonomi dan agama memberikan kunci penjelasan kenapa kekerasan tersebut bisa terjadi.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Indonesian Literature

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Gin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an example of how good history is written.

As someone who is ethnic Chinese from neighbouring Singapore, and who came of age around the same time as the May 1998 violence, and who remembers being shocked by the violence and rapes, the book touched on a subject that I had longed tried to understand. Purdey has written a rich account of anti-Chinese violence in Indonesia, and the reasons for that.

Unlike the Chinese in Singapore who formed the majority, or even the Chinese in Malaysia who while being a minority are a sizable one able to preserve and practice their culture, I always saw the Indonesian Chinese as the minority of minorities. Unable to openly celebrate Chinese New Year, or openly use the Chinese language until the early 2000s with the fall of the New Order, Indonesian Chinese seem less Chinese so to speak as a result. Yet the tragedy seems to be that they are at the same time regarded as outsiders - pendatang - regardless of how long they have been in the country.

Purdey’s book helped me to understand why the above is the case, and how violence against the Chinese are partly in response to them being stereotyped as rich and close to the military and political elite during Suharto’s time, and also at the same time a consequence of them being ethnic outsiders i.e., for being ethnic Chinese. The former seems to be on the wane in the post-Suharto period, but this also means they need to confront the fact that they are targeted because they are ethnic Chinese, rather than as a convenient scapegoat for the economic woes of the pribumi. This is something that they cannot acknowledge because to do so would mean confronting the idea that they are attacked and discriminated against for being Chinese. Where would that leave them then? Better perhaps to rationalise attacks against them as an outcome of state violence, or shadowy figures operating from the dark. This was how the Chinese community essentially rationalise the violence against them until the fall of Suharto.

The book was published in 2006 so I am certain a lot has changed since then, I imagine. I am not sure how inter-ethnic relations have since changed from the late 1990s and early 2000s, but my own understanding from anecdotal evidence as well as the news, is that things have improved a lot since the late 1990s. Long may it continue to be the case.

[Ms.TDA · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Laporan Tim Gabungan mengakui bahwa terorisme yg disponsori negara telah menyebabkan kesakitan dan penderitaan bagi seluruh warga Indonesia, terutama kelompok Tionghoa, perempuan dan miskin kota. 🥀

“Keteraturan dunia” dibawah Orde Baru di Indonesia meliputi pengetahuan, norma dan institusi terkait dg kekerasan dan karena itu merupakan agennya. Disaat yg sama berbagai elemen yg terlibat dlm kekerasan etnis, yg tdk secara lgsg didorong oleh politik/elite, tp berakar di wilayah lokal dan didlm emosi manusia, harus juga dipahami dan di analisis. 😵‍💫

Sbg sesuatu yg mendasar dlm HAM, org Tionghoa yg lahir dan tinggal di Indonesia berhak utk menikmati kewarganegaraan penuh tanpa ambiguitas hukum! Sebuah proses rekonsiliasi diperlukan di mana semua warganegara dan institusi mengidentifikasi harapan2 atas mereka dan memenuhi kewajiban mereka sbg warganegara. Solusi yg terlihat mudah, tp memerlukan pertukaran ide yg baru mengenai hak dan kewajiban seluruh warga negara dan karakter alamiah Indonesia sendiri. Harsh truths to be found😞

[Kuntho · Rating 4 out of 5]

great

[Mikael · Rating 5 out of 5]

ini buku yang sangat bagus