II of X: The Int'l Day for the Elimination of Racism
racial segregation and ensure no economic, political and social interaction occurred between ethnic Chinese and the rest of the population. In addition to the passenstelsel, the VOC administration also introduced wijkenstelsel, under which ethnic Chinese were prohibited from residing in the center of the city, and were therefore required to set up a ghetto in the form of a residential Chinatown enclave.
Racial segregation was further established by categorising the society into three distinctive classes, which received different treatment in legal, social and political matters. The whites were obviously the first-class citizens, while those labeled "indigenous" were given third-class status. Those who were called "alien oriental" were in some undefined place in the middle.
The dissemination of racism as an ideology formed an important and essential part of the "divide and rule" policy pursued by the colonial rulers. After all, the peaceful coexistence enjoyed by people of differing racial origins was disadvantageous to the subjugation of a nation. The cohesiveness of the different sectors in society could lead to a united resistance against the colonial power. And hence was the beginning of the long Indonesian epic of racism. The Dutch colonial administration radically changed the Indonesian social system, from one where racial discrimination was alien to a system fraught with racial discrimination, an aspect very useful to the colonial administration.
It is unsurprising that in 1914 a racial riot broke out between the Chinese and the Javanese in Kudus, Central Java. The racial policies of the colonial Dutch were adopted by the Soekarno government, through the enforcement of the PP 10, a piece of legislation which prohibited foreign and Chinese traders from conducting business in the countryside. This had the effect of causing the robbery and violence towards the ethnic Chinese. The history of this incident is told in Pramoedya Ananta Toer's book Hoakiau in Indonesia. During the Old Order, however, the political condition was left open and citizens were allowed the freedom to organise and to participate in politics. Baperki, an organisation of ethnic-Chinese, openly fought against racist policies.
Towards the end of the Old Order, and the establishment of the New Order regime, again the Chinese Ethnics fell victim to the political volatility of 1965. With the rise of the Land Army under the command of General Soeharto to power and the biggest, most massive killing which has ever occurred in the history of the nation, several violations of civil and political rights were
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