Families of rights abuse victims condemn proposal to name Suharto Indonesian hero

Shocked families of victims of human rights abuses committed under former Indonesian President Suharto have condemned a proposal by national assembly members to give the deceased authoritarian leader “national hero” status. 

Many human rights activists said the move aimed to sanitize the bloody legacy of Suharto, the military leader who came to power in 1966 after anti-communist purges, which it is widely assumed he sanctioned, killed an estimated 500,000 to 1 million people, and in 1998 ordered the violent suppression of student protests. 

However, the speaker of the People Consultative Assembly (MPR), the upper house in the bicameral legislature, on Saturday did not mention these events. 

He said the former leader deserved the title for his contributions to the country over his 32-year rule, adding that the move would foster national unity and reconciliation. 

Uchikowati Fauzia survived Suharto’s anti-communist campaign during which her father, the late Djauhar Arifin Santosa, the former regent of Cilacap, was jailed for 20 years for his alleged involvement in a failed coup.

“This is an insult to the families of victims,” she told BenarNews.

A total of 15 family members, including her mother, were similarly imprisoned for long spells, Uchikowati said.

Now in her 70s, Uchikowati said she had spent decades coping with the trauma inflicted on her family, many of whom were accused of being affiliated with the alleged communist coup plot in 1965 that began with the killings of six top military generals on the night of Sept. 30. 

“I thought things would get better, but they haven’t,” she added. “The government never seriously addresses human rights violations. Even after recognizing them, nothing changes. Those responsible are still living comfortably.”

She has channelled her experiences into activism, co-founding the Dialita Choir in 2011, a group made up of female former political prisoners and their relatives. 

Suharto used the alleged coup attempt that was blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) to justify his rise to power. His military-backed campaign, which scholars have described as genocide, killed hundreds of thousands alleged leftists and communists in 1965-66.

He ruled Indonesia with an iron fist until he resigned in May 1998, following massive protests at the height of the Asian financial crisis. 

His New Order government was marked by widespread human rights abuses, including the imprisonment, torture, and killing of political opponents, as well as extensive corruption and nepotism.

Although Suharto’s legacy includes significant economic growth and development, these gains came at great cost to civil liberties, critics say.

MPR Chairman Bambang Soesatyo said Suharto deserved the title of national hero due to these “great contributions.” 

“It seems reasonable to consider former President Suharto for the title of national hero,” he said on Saturday. 

“The MPR leadership must clarify this matter to raise public awareness and achieve national reconciliation for the sake of unity and integrity,” he added, according to state news agency Antara. 

Bambang and other MPR members met with Suharto’s daughters, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana and Siti Hediati Hariyadi, over the weekend as part of the discussion about honoring their father.

During the meeting, which was telecast on several television channels and later posted on YouTube, Bambang called on the nation to let go of past grievances.

“Let go of this resentment. We are not a nation that holds grudges,” he said. 

One of Suharto’s daughters, Siti, offered an apology on behalf of her father. 

“We apologize if there were any mistakes made by my father during his leadership. However, I assure you, those mistakes were never intended,” she said at the meeting.

She also expressed hope that Suharto’s contributions to Indonesia’s development would be recognized and appreciated. 

“Everything my father did was for the good of the nation,” she added.

However, Sumarsih, a leading figure in Aksi Kamisan, a weekly silent protest in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta, which demands justice for victims of human rights abuses, called Bambang’s reason specious. 

She lost her son, Bernardinus Irawan, during the 1998 unrest.

“If they are seeking national unity, it should be built on honesty, not lies,” Sumarsih told BenarNews.

Beyond the human rights abuses, Suharto and his family have been accused of massive corruption. 

A court ruled that Suharto’s Supersemar Foundation, which ostensibly provided scholarships for students, had illegally misused state funds, and ordered it to repay nearly U.S. $260 million to the government.

The foundation has paid only around $15.5 million, with efforts to recover the outstanding sum in progress.

Golkar party request

The proposal to name Suharto a national hero followed the removal of his name from a decree on anti-corruption during the MPR’s final session of its 2019-2024 term last week. 

The 1998 decree passed after Suharto’s fall and had explicitly mentioned his name in its call to tackle corruption. These efforts must target “even former President Suharto,” along with other political and business elites, the decree said. 

The removal of Suharto’s name from the decree followed a request from the Golkar Party, the political machine that Suharto used to maintain his grip on power and which still remains a dominant force in Indonesian politics.

Golkar is one of the parties that agreed to support President-elect Prabowo Subianto, who will be sworn in on Oct. 20, in parliament. 

Siti is the ex-wife of Prabowo, a former general under Suharto. Prabowo has been accused of widespread human rights abuses at home and abroad, in what is now called Timor-Leste.

Several human rights activists and organizations said that if Suharto was named “national hero” it would sully the democratic reforms instituted after 1998.

Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director, Usman Hamid, called the MPR’s proposal a “serious mistake” that overlooks the lasting harm caused by Suharto’s regime.

“It feels like the MPR is granting a form of moral amnesty for the crimes Suharto committed,” Hamid said in a statement.

For Dimas Bagus Arya, coordinator of the human rights group KontraS, the proposal was “a regression” in Indonesia’s democratic reforms. 

“Reform should have meant putting Suharto and his cronies on trial for their abuses and dismantling the practices of corruption, collusion, and nepotism,” he said. 

“A national hero should be someone who upheld justice, not a leader whose regime was responsible for widespread violence.”

J.J. Rizal, a historian, echoed the opinion of Dimas, saying Suharto did not deserve the title of hero. 

“Just the fact that he came to power through genocide should be enough to disqualify him. A national hero is supposed to be someone who represents humanity,” Rizal told BenarNews.  

“How can a man who rose to power through genocide be considered a hero?”