In commemorating the May 1998 Tragedy, Komnas Perempuan along with twenty nine history teachers from the History Teachers Forum (MGMPS) and seven media crews commemorated the reformation on 15 May 2011. This event was supported by Chinese Women of Indonesia (PINTI), Chinese of Indonesia (INTI), Nusa Bangsa Solidarity (SNB), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KONTRAS), the Indonesian Association of Families of Missing Persons (IKOHI), the Chinese Youth Network (JTM), the Forum for Families of May 1998 Victims (FKKM), the Society May 1998 Victims and the Association of Indonesian History Teachers (AGSI).

The reformation commemoration is part of the efforts to preserve public memory of the May 1998 Tragedy as an integral part of the journey of reformation for the nation of Indonesia. During the commemoration, participants visited a number of important sites in order to reflect on the events of May 1998. The sites visited were the VOC Shipyard and the tomb of Souw Beng Kong in Old Batavia. These sites were chosen because they bear links to the Chinese community. The visit continued on to Yogya Plaza and to houses of the victims’ families in Klender where there are inscriptions on the May ‘98 Needle to commemorate the victims who were burnt. To cap it all off, the participants returned to Komnas Perempuan to reflect on the reformation commemoration journey undertaken.

The involvement of history teachers in the commemoration of the reformation is part of the “Let’s Talk the Truth” campaign. This campaign is an effort of Komnas Perempuan to push that the events that occurred during the May 1998 Tragedy (including sexual violence against women) be integrated into the National History Education curriculum. By doing so, future generations of the nation can learn from the May 1998 Tragedy so that similar events do not occur again. (VS)