Indonesian minister faces backlash after calling 1998 mass rape a 'rumour'

Remarks raise worry that sensitive events from the past are being downplayed

- Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja

JAKARTA - Indonesian Cultural Affairs Minister Fadli Zon, already under fire for his initiative to rewrite Indonesia's history, is facing renewed public backlash for downplaying the well-documented mass rape of Indonesians of Chinese descent during the May 1998 protests and riots that led to the fall of then President Suharto.

In a June 11 podcast, Mr Fadli dismissed the rapes as mere rumours, claiming that there has never been any evidence to support the allegations - comments that triggered painful memories of the deadly chaos that engulfed Jakarta and elsewhere.

Criticism lit up social media, with responses coming from prominent human rights activists and a former police general.

"Has Fadli Zon never read about the mass rape in the 1998 riots or does he actually know of the incidents but chooses to be in denial?" user @bangjerrrr from Indonesia wrote on social media platform X.

The controversy also raises questions about the political motivations for Mr Fadli's remarks and the project to revise Indonesian history to produce an "official" history book. There are also concerns that it is an attempt to downplay politically sensitive episodes in the nation's past.

The 1998 events have also dogged President Prabowo Subianto for years. He is a former Commandant General of Kopassus (Special Forces Command) and has been accused of being involved in the abduction of activists and orchestrating the 1998 riots, accusations he has repeatedly denied.

He is also Mr Suharto's former son-in-law. Mr Prabowo married Ms Siti Hediati Hariyadi, a daughter of Mr Suharto, in 1983. They divorced in 1998.

Mr Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, cited findings from a government-commissioned fact-finding team that confirmed the mass rape happened, noting that the team's report prompted then President B.J. Habibie to acknowledge and express regret in his first speech before Parliament in August 1998.