Margaretha Martadinata Haryono (March 21, 1981 – October 9, 1998), or Ita Martadinata Haryono, better known by her nickname, Ita, was a
Chinese Indonesian
Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries.
Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have ...
human rights activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
who was
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
ed in 1998, a case which is still
unsolved.
Early life
Ita Martadinata Haryono was born on March 21, 1981, as the youngest child of the two children of Joko Leo Haryono (b. 1949) and Wiwin Haryono.
Background
At the age of 17 and while a senior year student in Paskalis Senior
High School in Jakarta, Ita was found dead on October 9, 1998, in her bedroom in
Central Jakarta
Central Jakarta ( id, Jakarta Pusat) is one of the five administrative cities () which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 1,056,896 at the 2 ...
.
Her stomach, chest, and right arm were
stabbed
A stabbing is penetration or rough contact with a sharp or pointed object at close range. ''Stab'' connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others. Stabbing differs fro ...
ten times, while her neck was slashed. The murder occurred just three days after a
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
press conference held by the human rights organizations Ita had been involved with. The groups claimed that several of their members had received death threats in an attempt to stop them calling for an international investigation into the gang-
rapes, murder, and burning of
Indonesian Chinese girls and women during the
May 1998 riot; a riot which ultimately forced
Suharto
Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
to
step down from the
presidency.
Death and aftermath
Police concluded that Ita's death was an ordinary crime, committed by a
drug addict who had entered Ita's home to rob it. According to the police statement, he was caught in the act by Ita and therefore decided to kill her. However, others question this statement because Ita and her mother, Wiwin Haryono, were due to leave in a few days for the
United States together with four victims of the May 1998 riot to present their testimony before the
U.S. Congress. Ita and her mother had been deeply involved in giving help and
counseling
Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes.
This is a list of co ...
to the victims of the riot.
The group Ita and her mother had worked most closely with, an organization called ''
Tim Relawan untuk Kemanusiaan'' (Voluntary Team for Humanity), concluded that Ita's murder was a warning to them and others who were involved in this
humanitarian
Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...
effort, to discontinue their activities.
See also
*
List of unsolved murders
References
External links
Better Protection Of Rapes Investigators NeededUN Commission On Human Rights
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haryono, Ita Martadinata
1998 deaths
Deaths by blade weapons
Female murder victims
Indonesian murder victims
Indonesian people of Chinese descent
People murdered in Indonesia
Unsolved murders in Indonesia
1981 births