Jakarta – Tempo, Indonesia's leading weekly news magazine banned by the government of former president Suharto in 1994, hit the streets Tuesday with the issue of rapes during the May riots as its cover story. "There are so many stories and not too many facts about the rapes.

But this does not mean that people can easily downplay reports of the brutality against ethnic Chinese during the riots in May as empty screams which makes us uncomfortable," an opinion published in the new Tempo issue. In its cover story, Tempo carried the testimony of at least three individuals who have met with victims of the gang rapes.

The first issue was published two days after military chief General Wiranto reiterated for a second time that the government and authorities had not yet been able to find victims of rape or concrete evidence that rapes had taken place. Anton Indracaya, an ethnic Chinese Moslem who is a talkshow host with a private television channel, told Tempo that he had met and spoke to eight victims of the May rapes and another victim who was raped after the riots.

It also carried the story of an ethnic Chinese women who witnessed the gang rape of one girl, and later helped the victim and her family to move to Australia. Tempo also quoted Estern Indahyani Jusuf, who heads the Homeland and Nation Solidarity, as saying a medical doctor has told her that he and several colleagues had treated 50 victims of rapes during the riots. The doctor, however, later refused to openly testify on the case without citing any reason.

The first edition also carried other reports, including on the plan by Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesia's popular politician, to hold a party congress in Bali later this week. Tempo had a circulation of some 180,000 copies when the Suharto government closed it down on June 21, 1994, citing vague "substantive" editorial reasons.

Tempo's chief editor Gunawan Mohamad has said the precise reason for the 1994 ban remained unknown, but he suspected the final blow might have been a report critical of the purchase by the government of 39 old East German navy vessels. The ships were ordered by Suharto's handpicked successor, President B.J. Habibie, whose government has allowed Tempo to reopen.

Two other major weekly publications were also closed down at the same time as Tempo but with the government citing "administrative" reasons.