Ethnic Chinese Fear For Their Lives Amid Islamist Protests
The growing protests against Jakarta’s governor only add to the worsening discrimination in addition to also also violence fears of the ethnic Chinese.
The November 4 protests against the capital city’s incumbent governor Basuki ‘Ahok’ Tjahaja Purnama brought more than 100,000 people to the streets. The attendees were predominantly Muslims who accused Ahok of blasphemy after a police investigation alleged he criticized certain Quran verses during his visit to one of the regencies in September.
Ahok has since apologized in addition to also also insisted he was criticizing not the verses nevertheless instead “those who used the idea to attack him.” Nevertheless, many hard-liners want him prosecuted, with some calling for his death. Others stormed the gated community where he in addition to also also some other fellow ethnic Chinese citizens live in addition to also also vandalized properties.
These scenarios heightened fears in addition to also also feelings of discrimination which some Chinese believe they have been suffering for years in Indonesia.
“We the Chinese are always afraid of riots because we are usually the victims,” shopkeeper Himawan Tjandra Kusnadi said as quoted by Wall Street Journal.
Thousands of Muslims protest against Ahok, whom they accused of blaspheming the Quran.
See: Who can be Ahok? Supporters in addition to also also Psych Experts Weigh in on Jakarta’s Controversial Governor
Chinese citizens in Indonesia make up only around 2 percent of the total population, in addition to also also they are usually Buddhists or Christians.
While a Great majority of wealthy Indonesians are actually of ethnic Chinese origin, most of them can be classified as either middle or lower class.
Despite a fair deal of economic contribution, the minority group has been subject to racial violence most notably the 1998 May riots which occurred inside nation’s capital. Resentment against Chinese who benefited by close ties with the then-president Suharto, in addition to also also his family, eventually incited locals to attack Chinese businesses in addition to also also shops, looting in addition to also also burning them.
About a thousand people died inside riots, who were burned to death during the looting, while many ethnic Chinese women were raped.
For the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, the attack on the governor can be considered “an attack on the secular constitution,” Chinese Indonesian economist Christianto Wibisono said.
The unrest forced President Joko Widodo to postpone his trip to Australia in early November. His government has called for mutual respect in addition to also also national unity.
Image credits: Wikipedia Indonesia, Associated Press via Fox News
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Ethnic Chinese Fear For Their Lives Amid Islamist Protests
Ethnic Chinese Fear For Their Lives Amid Islamist Protests