Students, Women Protest Mass Rapes of Ethic Chinese in Indonesia

Student and women's groups on Monday, August 17 protested the mass rapes and murders of mostly ethnic-Chinese during May 1998 riots in Indonesia. The protests coincided with Indonesia's Independence Day.

Students from Beijing University and a women's group had originally planned large, organized demonstrations, but were denied permission to do so. They instead planned several smaller, but powerful events. The first event was a meeting organized by China Women's News at a Beijing hotel. The event, titled "Intellectual 'Women of the Capital Voicing Their Support for the Ethic Chinese Victims of Indonesia," consisted of speeches made by

University students wore yellow ribbons in honor of the victims. One group of students assembled outside of the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing and another organized a "sit-in" outside of the Indonesian ambassador's residence. Many students carried gruesome pictures of the rape and murder victims -- pictures that had been published in Chinese newspapers only recently. Two groups of students delivered petitions to the embassy last week. A letter of protest addressed to the Indonesian ambassador in Beijing was signed by over 1,500 Beijing University students, even though classes were not in session.

Media Resources: New York Times - August 18, 1998

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