National hero proposal for Indonesian dictator sparks backlash

JAKARTA, Indonesia: A proposal to include Indonesia’s former military dictator Suharto on a list of national heroes sparked opposition from rights advocates who on Tuesday called the nomination a “betrayal”.

Former president Suharto, who died in 2008 aged 86, ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for more than three decades after grabbing power in 1967.

The former military general’s rule was marred by allegations of corruption and human rights abuses, including violent crackdowns on political dissent.

On Tuesday, around 500 civil society members, activists and academics published a letter sent to sitting President Prabowo Subianto — who is also Suharto’s son-in-law — requesting him not to go ahead with the decision.

“The awarding of the title of national hero to Suharto is not only a betrayal of the victims and democratic values, but also a betrayal of reform and constitutes a dangerous distortion of history for the younger generation,” the letter said.

Prabowo was reviewing the shortlist of national heroes, State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said last week.

He added that the president had the authority to decide the final make-up of the list, which will be finalised on November 10.

A presidential spokesman did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Prabowo has faced a series of violent protests since sweeping to electoral victory last year, mainly sparked by discontent over economic inequality and lavish perks for lawmakers that experts say have eroded public trust in democracy in a nation long known for dynastic politics.

Tuesday’s letter highlighted human rights violations under Suharto’s rule, including alleged massacres of student protesters by pro-Suharto forces in the lead-up to his fall from power in 1998.

“If Suharto is awarded national hero status, it will be a monumental neglect of and insensitivity towards the human rights violations,” Marzuki Darusman, a former attorney general who had signed the letter, said at a press conference.

Rights group Amnesty International raised concerns that the inclusion of Suharto on the list would obscure Indonesia’s history.

“The law states that a hero must possess moral exemplarity, must have moral integrity, and must embody the qualities of social justice, humanitarian justice, and being on the people’s side,” Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director, Usman Hamid, told reporters.

“Now, if those values are applied to Suharto being given the title of national hero, those values are precisely contradicted,” he added.