May 1998 Riots of Indonesia

Part of the fall of Suharto A man wearing a buttoned shirt, pants, and flip-flops throws an office chair into a burning pile of other chairs in the middle of a city street. Behind him, several dozen people gather in front of a building with broken windows. Rioters burn 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 May 1998 riots of Indonesia is located in Indonesia Medan Jakarta Surakarta Map of Indonesia showing locations of the May 1998 riots The May 1998 Riots of Indonesia (Indonesian: Kerusuhan Mei 1998)[1] were incidents of mass violence 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 victims of the violence were ethnic Chinese. 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.[2]