Number of Victims of the May 1998 Tragedy

The May 1998 tragedy, which occurred 21 years ago, remains a dark chapter in Indonesian history. The Joint Fact-Finding Team (TGPF) stated that one of the impacts of the May 13-15, 1998 riots was violence resulting in deaths and injuries.

The TGPF found variations in the number of deaths and injuries. First, data from volunteer teams, obtained from various sources, indicated 1,308 victims in this riot. 1,217 deaths were recorded, with 1,190 deaths attributed to weapons and 564 deaths by burning. Meanwhile, there were 91 injured victims.

Second, data from the Jakarta Metropolitan Police (Polda Metro Jaya) reported 451 deaths, while the number of injured was not recorded. Third, data from the Regional Military Command (Kodam) showed 532 victims: 463 deaths and 69 injuries. Finally, data from the Jakarta Provincial Government (Pemda DKI Jakarta) reported 288 deaths and 101 injuries.

The discrepancy between the number of casualties found by volunteer teams and the official government figures is due to many victims being evacuated by the community themselves before official government evacuation efforts. This resulted in these victims not being recorded in official government reports.