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View all search resultsThe proposed conferral of the national hero title upon Soeharto challenges not only our collective memory but also our unwavering commitment to transitional justice and the mandates of the 1998 Reformasi.
Yet, memories of Soeharto's heavy-handedness in governing the country have been passed down to these twentysomething youths during their formative years. Thus, it has become easier for them to denounce the plan from President Prabowo Subianto's administration to bestow national hero status upon the former general.
Barring any last-minute political twists, President Prabowo Subianto's administration appears poised to crown Indonesia's second president and Prabowo's former father-in-law Soeharto as a national hero. The move would mark a dramatic turn in the country's reckoning with its authoritarian past, as no previous president had dared to officially honor the man whose 32-year rule was synonymous with repression, corruption, and nepotism.
Rewriting history is not inherently wrong, but when it is done opaquely with an aim to benefit the powers that be in today's regime, it not only negates facts but also the very journey our nation and people trod to get where we are.
Awarding the national hero title for former president Soeharto, who was known for his 32 years of authoritarian rule, will betray the spirit of the reform movement of 1998 and the fight for justice for many victims of his crimes, activists have asserted.
Human rights groups have condemned the inclusion of late president Soeharto in the government’s proposed shortlist of nominees for national hero status and have decried human rights abuses that occurred throughout his rule.
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