Editing Fall of Suharto (section)

=== Military involvement in the riots ===
At the time, the Indonesian military had been split into two differing factions. The "red and white" nationalist faction led by Armed Forces commander General [[Wiranto]], and the "green" Islamist faction headed by [[Prabowo Subianto]].{{sfn|Schwarz|1999| p = 580}} Prabowo, who was the commander of [[Kostrad]] (the strategic reserve, the division in which Suharto himself took power during the 1960's), was friends with [[Muchdi Purwopranjono]], who ran the ''[[Kopassus]]'' (special forces), and another, Syafrie Samsuddin, headed the [[Kodam Jaya|Jakarta Regional Command]].{{sfn|Schwarz|1999| p = 600}} During the riots, both Muchdi and Syafrie failed to order their troops to quell the riots, and a report subsequently emerged that Syafrie had actually been in radio contact with the gangs terrorizing the city. It is possible that Prabowo hoped the riots would discredit his rival Wiranto and result in Suharto appointing Prabowo to head the armed forces.{{sfn|Schwarz|1999| pp = 616–617}}

Meanwhile, other allegations surfaced of the military being actively involved with the riots. A security officer alleged that during the riots, ''[[Kopassus]]'' (special forces) officers had ordered the burning down of a bank. A taxi driver reported hearing a man in a military helicopter encouraging people on the ground to carry out looting. Shop owners at a plaza claimed that before the riots, military officers tried to extract protection money. A teenager claimed he and thousands of others had been trained as protesters. A street child alleged that ''Kopassus'' officers ordered him and his friends to become rioters. There was a report of soldiers being dressed up as students and taking part in the rioting.{{sfn|Arzia Tivany Wargadiredja|2018| p = 48}} Eyewitnesses spoke of the destruction being organized, with bands of men with short haircuts directing looters into shops, malls and banks, and of rioters being transported in military trucks. Rape victims testified that ethnic Chinese women were targeted, with assaults planned in advance.{{sfn|Schwarz|1999| p = 616}}{{sfn|Schwarz|1999| p = 617}}

{{quote box | salign = right | align = center | width = 80% | qstyle = text-align:justify;|In May 1998, thousands of Indonesian citizens were murdered and raped&nbsp;...<br /><br />The Joint Fact Finding Team established to inquire into the 1998 massacres found that there were serious and systematic human rights violations throughout Jakarta. The Team also found that rioters were encouraged by the absence of security forces, and that the military had played a role in the violence. The Team identified particular officials who should be held to account.<br /><br />The Special Rapporteur on violence against women&nbsp;... also pointed to evidence suggesting that the riots had been organised (E/CN.4/1999/68/Add.3, para. 45) | source = [[Asian Human Rights Commission]] Press Release{{sfn|AHRC Press Release|2003}}}}