TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
‘Soeharto is the hero of what?’
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Then-president Soeharto announcing his resignation as the president of Indonesia at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on May 21, 1998. (Kompas.com/-)
A
father of a kidnapped pro-democracy activist during the country’s turbulent 1997-1998 period under the dictatorship of Soeharto strongly demands the government reject proposals to name the former president as a national hero.
Paian Siahhan, whose missing son was activist Ucok Munandar Siahaan and was allegedly kidnapped for opposing the New Order regime, said Soeharto did not fulfill the criteria to be bestowed such a title.
"Soeharto is the hero of what? A hero does not hurt the people, [but] protects them. What kind of hero is he? It's very contradicting," said Paian on Tuesday as quoted by Kompas.com
Paian underlined that the kidnapping cases that included his son occurred when Soeharto was in power, and consequently holds the former president as the most responsible for his son’s disappearance.
Paian has become one of many civilians and rights activist groups who have asked incumbent President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to reject the proposal to officially name Soeharto a hero.
Paian said this call was in respect to the investigation results from the National Commission on Human Rights that had revealed Soeharto’s involment in a series of human rights violations during his regime.
In relation to the 1997 to 1998 period, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) had listed the forced disappearances of 23 people as being associated with the government at the time.
From the total number, one person Leonardus Gilang was found dead, nine others had been released, while the whereabouts of the other 13 people remains unknown.
The 13 missing people are Abdun Nasser, Dedi Hamdun, Hendra Hambali, Herman Hendrawan, Ismail, Noval Al Katiri, Petrus Bima Anugrah, Sonny, Suyat, Ucok Munandar Siahaan, Wiji Thukul, Yadin Muhidin dan Yani Afri.
The kidnapping of activists in 1997-1998 is closely tied to the lead up of the 1997 elections and the 1998 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) General Session, which at the time replacement of Soeharto was being discussed.
Pro-democracy activists and civilians suspected of opposing Soeharto, who was in power for 32 years, allegedly became victims of kidnappings and forced disappearances.
Despite mounting calls to put the former president on trial after the 1998 political reforms, charges implicating Soeharto remained unsolved until his death in 2008. (liz/bbn)
