Dear Prime Minister John Howard,
It is a wonderful country Australian Perth, Australia, May 16-
Australia on Saturday said it will consider extending visas for visiting Indonesians
afraid to go home and had arranged extra flights for its own citizens to return from
Indonesia.
Australia's Immigration Department said any extensions would be decided on an
individual basis and remain valid until law and order is restored in the troubles country,
a spokesman for Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said.
Nowadays condition, a daily Jakarta-to -Sydney service, would be changed to refugee's
chaos. How to prepare the shelters for refugee may be the hardest issue over Australia.
"Humanism" and "security" would be the next problems
for defending Indonesia's crisis.
In Indonesia; many of the damaged stores were owned by members of the Chinese minority,
who dominate industry and commerce in Indonesia and who are often targeted as scapegoats
in tough economic times.
Despite the lull in violence most stayed away from their damaged properties
Saturday(May 16, 1998).
Other shopkeepers painted "indigenous-owned" and hung Islamic prayer mats on
their walls to show they were members of Muslim majority and should be spared.
Indonesia's Chinese was attacked for a long time; political and economic crisis is the
major reason to transfer hatred to Chinese, despite the truth-that President Suharto and
his government handled most of business from ethnic Chinese. Indonesia's ethnic Chinese
have no way be go, but keeping cooperation with Suharto's government.
As we know it ; the government's speaking; "the Chinese community make up less
than five percent of Indonesia's 200 million population, but they control about 80 percent
of the wealth in terms of capitalization on the Jakarta stock exchange. Five of the six
largest companies in Indonesia are owned by ethnic Chinese."
Otherwise; "owned by ethnic Chinese; but handled by Suharto's
government" that's the real contents.
Since Indonesia's independence from the Dutch after World War II, the ethnic Chinese
have come to dominate commerce to such an extent that they are blamed for any price rises
and form a natural target for popular anger.
During times of difficulty the authorities often use this to deflect unrest
away from the regime and towards the Chinese.
I wrote the letter for appreciation to you and your government, and with best hopes
that you will win election.