US EditionIndonesia Names Former President Suharto a 'National Hero'
The title honors Suharto’s economic and political impact despite human rights abuses and corruption accusations during his 32-year rule, sparking protests and debate.
- During National Heroes Day ceremonies at the State Palace, President Prabowo Subianto conferred national hero status on former President Suharto, one of 10 honorees.
- The president's spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said 49 nominees were submitted late on Sunday, with Culture Minister Fadli Zon asserting all met the criteria.
- Historians say about 300,000 people were killed during the 1965-66 purge, while around 500 civil society members, activists and academics urged a veto, and protesters near the presidential palace numbered around 100.
- The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation called the decision `unethical, destructive to law and human rights`, and protesters carried slogans like `Stop the Whitewashing` during planned demonstrations.
- Observers say the decision reflects a wider official revisionism that recasts the New Order period as stable and labels Suharto `bapak pembangunan`, while Prabowo Subianto's administration authorises school history textbooks rewrites and the military's increased role since October 2024 fuels reformasi rollback concerns.
148 Articles
148 Articles
Despite controversy, Indonesia honors military ruler Suharto as
JAKARTA: Indonesia has declared the late President Suharto a national hero which activists say is an attempt at whitewashing a long history of human rights abuses and corruption that took place during his three-decade military rule. Suharto was forced out of office in 1998 by violent protests that took place amid an economic crisis. His departure marked the end of the New
President Prabowo Subianto's decision, a former legend of Suharto, outraged human rights defenders despite the concomitant designation, as "hero of the nation," of Marsinah, a trade unionist murdered by the army in 1993, during the dictatorship.
Behind the National Hero Title for Suharto
By: Ainur RohmahSuharto and PrabowoPresident Prabowo Subianto’s bestowal of the title National Hero on Indonesia’s second President, Suharto, his former father-in-law, has sparked widespread domestic and international controversy over the decision to honor a leader whose three-decade rule remains one of the most divisive chapters in the nation’s history…
Indonesia's Suharto was hardly a national hero
The Indonesian government’s controversial decision to award the title of “National Hero” to former President Suharto is not merely a question of historical interpretation. It is a political act loaded with symbolism and consequence, one that speaks louder about the direction of President Prabowo Subianto’s government than about the to-be-awarded deceased autocrat’s legacy. What is […] The post Indonesia’s Suharto was hardly a national hero appea…
Former dictator Suharto is blamed for repression, massacres and abductions. According to critics, the current president wants to rewrite history.
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