May 1998 riots of Indonesia

May 1998 Indonesia riots
May 1998 Indonesia riots
Part of the fall of Suharto, 1997 Asian financial crisis and Anti-Chinese sentiment in Indonesia
	Rioters burning office furniture on the streets of Jakarta on 14 May 1998
Date	4–8 and 12–15 May 1998
Location	Major riots occurred in Medan, Jakarta, and Surakarta with a number of isolated incidents elsewhere
Caused by	Long-term discrimination against Chinese-Indonesians; Discontent over the New Order government; Alleged vote-rigging in the 1997 legislative election; Economic collapse as a result of the Asian financial crisis; Authoritarianism; Trisakti shootings;
Methods	Rioting; Civil unrest; Looting; Arson; Rape;
Resulted in	Resignation of President Suharto and the creation of a new Development Reform Cabinet under B. J. Habibie; Independence of Timor-Leste; Beginning of the Reformation era;
Parties

Medan

Jakarta

Surakarta

Map of Indonesia showing locations of the May 1998 riots

The May 1998 Indonesia riots (Indonesian: Kerusuhan Mei 1998), also known colloquially as the 1998 tragedy (Tragedi 1998) or simply the 98 event (Peristiwa 98), were incidents of mass violence and civil unrest in Indonesia, many of which targeted the country's ethnic Chinese population. The events were mainly in the cities of Medan, Jakarta, and Surakarta, with smaller incidents in other parts of Indonesia.

Under the Western-backed Suharto, there had been widespread and systematic discrimination against ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. The riots were triggered by corruption, economic problems, including food shortages and mass unemployment. It eventually led to the resignation of President Suharto and the fall of the New Order government, which had been in power for 32 years and heavily backed by Western powers such as the United States. The main targets of the violence were ethnic Chinese Indonesians, but most of the casualties were caused by a massive fire and occurred among looters.

It was estimated that more than 1,000 people died in the riots. At least 168 cases of rape were reported, and material damage was valued at more than Rp3.1 trillion (US$260 million). As of 2010, legal proceedings regarding the riots were stalled and not completed.