Suharto, dictator of the largest Muslim country for 32 years, dies
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Suharto, one of the longest-serving dictators in recent years, died last night. He was at the helm of Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country in the world, for 32 years
Born 8 June 1921 in peasant family, he had to go to Islamic school because of his family’s economic woes even though his real passion was Javanese mysticism. After working as a bank teller he enrolled in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, later defecting to the Japanese-sponsored Indonesian militia that backed Japanese rule between 1942 and 1945. He eventually joined the guerrilla forces that fought the Dutch when they tried to re-establish their rule over the archipelago after Japan’s surrender.
Following independence he became deputy chief-of-staff in 19611 and then head of the Mandala Command. In 1965 he prevented a coup by the Indonesian Communist Party against then President Sukarno, but his loyalty to the latter ended when he personally took over in 1966.
In 1975 Suharto ordered the invasion of the eastern part of the island of Timor a few days after the end of Portuguese rule. But resistance to Indonesian rule by the predominantly Roman Catholic East Timorese led to bloody repression. Even the Mass celebrated on 12 October 1989 by Pope John Paul II, who was visiting the island, ended in clashes between the attending crowd and Indonesian militias.
On 12 November 1991 the funeral of a young nationalist in Díli, East Timor’s capital, brought home the realisation that Indonesian rule was untenable. The religious function in fact turned into a protest that was brutally repressed when Indonesian troops fired on people killing and wounding many.
Suharto’s government responded to international indignation caused by the incident by arguing that it had been caused by provocateurs. But few shared that view and Suharto himself was accused of genocide.
Eventually the United Nations intervened and successfully organised a referendum in the territory that led to its independence.
Suharto was finally swept from power in 1998 when, despite his re-election, violence, mass student protests and the collapse of Indonesia’s economy forced him to resign.
After leaving office he was accused of corruption and embezzlement, but his declining health stopped all cases against him.
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03/06/2016 10:51
16/05/2016 20:34
