[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 96 (Friday, July 17, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H5743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TERRIFYING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN INDONESIA
(Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, reports of the riots in Indonesia last month
tell of mass rapes targeted at the Chinese and non-Muslim women. There
are several reports that some military leaders helped to organize the
terrorizing of the ethnic and religious minorities. One 18-year-old
woman reports that the apartment complex where she lived was invaded by
an angry Muslim mob. The mob found this woman and her family, tied them
up with bed sheets, knocked the father unconscious, and proceeded to
brutally rape all the women. This woman's sister was raped by five men
who all said, ``Allahu Akbar'' before they raped her.
The young woman's sister tried to fight against the rapists. In the
end, one of her rapists sliced open her stomach and brutally killed
her. There are many reports detailing the same situation for other
women in Indonesia.
Mr. Speaker, the horrors done to the Chinese and the Christian
communities must not be allowed to continue under any government
whatsoever. The Indonesian Government should use its power to stop
these terrifying human rights abuses and investigate the allegation of
any military involvement in these atrocities.
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