May 1998 riots of Indonesia

May 1998 Riots of Indonesia
Part of the fall of Suharto
Rioters burning office furniture on the streets of Jakarta on 14 May
Date	4–8 and 12–15 May 1998
Location	Major riots occurred in Medan, Jakarta, and Surakarta with a number of isolated incidents elsewhere
Causes	Criticism of the New Order government, not limited to vote rigging in the 1997 legislative election and economic collapse as a result of the Asian financial crisis
Result	Resignation of President Suharto and the creation of a new Development Reform Cabinet under B. J. Habibie Independence of East Timor

The May 1998 riots of Indonesia (Indonesian: Kerusuhan Mei 1998), also known as the 1998 Tragedy (Indonesian: Tragedi 1998) or simply the 1998 event (Indonesian: Peristiwa 1998) were incidents of mass violence, demonstrations, and civil unrest of a racial nature that occurred throughout Indonesia, mainly in Medan in the province of North Sumatra (4–8 May), the capital city of Jakarta (12–15 May), and Surakarta (also called Solo) in the province of Central Java (13–15 May). The riots were triggered by economic problems including food shortages and mass unemployment, and eventually led to the resignation of President Suharto and the fall of the New Order government. The main targets of the violence were ethnic Chinese, however, most of the people who died in the riots were the Javanese Indonesian looters who targeted the Chinese shops, not the Chinese themselves, since the looters were burnt to death in a massive fire.

It was estimated that more than a thousand people died in the riots. At least 168 cases of rape were reported, and material damage was valued at more than Rp 3.1 trillion. As of 2010, legal proceedings regarding the riots have yet to be completed.

On 27 July 1996, soldiers, police, and civilians attacked the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia, PDI) in Central Jakarta, which was occupied by supporters of party leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of former President Sukarno. Megawati had been selected as party leader in general congress in December 1993. Her selection, however, was seen as a threat by the New Order government, which suppressed free speech during its 30 years in power. Popular support of Megawati and the PDI was growing leading up to the 1997 legislative election and threatened the dominance of the ruling Golkar party. The government declared Megawati's appointment invalid and organised a new congress in June 1996, during which a new party leader was selected. The attackers said they were acting on behalf of the rightful party leadership. The incident evolved into two days of rioting in Jakarta that the government blamed on the People's Democratic Party (Partai Rakyat Demokratik, PRD). Violence continued up to the election on 29 May 1997, which was won by Golkar with 74 percent of the votes. The divided PDI received only 3 percent of the votes, while the largely Muslim United Development Party (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, PPP) received 22 percent.