Indonesia declares former dictator Suharto a “national hero”

The President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, declared former dictator Haji Mohamed Suharto a ‘national hero’ on Monday, a decision that has sparked harsh criticism from Human Rights organizations and activists due to his alleged responsibility for the deaths of half a million dissidents in the 1960s. The designation took place during a ceremony in the country’s capital, Jakarta, where ten individuals were honored, including former president Abdurrahman Wahid (1999-2001) and former minister Mochtar Kusuma Atmadja (1974-1988), as reported by the state news agency Antara. Secretary of State Prasetyo Hadi defended the declaration of these ‘national heroes’ as individuals ‘who, despite everything, made extraordinary contributions to the nation.’ Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for 31 years from the overthrow of Sukarno in 1967 until his resignation in the late 90s, had been proposed for this honor on several occasions by previous leaders, but was never approved. The symbolic measure has stirred controversy, and last week, around a hundred people protested in Jakarta demanding that the authorities of the Asian country cancel the plan to honor the former dictator. Amnesty International has criticized the gesture, stating that it ignores Suharto’s history of violence and systematic human rights abuses. Between 1965 and 1966, Suharto’s regime launched a brutal repression against hundreds of thousands of people accused of sympathizing with the Communist Party. The party was immediately banned, Parliament and the Government were purged, independent unions were persecuted, and the press was censored. According to Human Rights organizations, it is estimated that between 400,000 and 500,000 people disappeared or were killed during those two years.