| Home
Indonesia calls for citizens to mourn Suharto
Paris News.Net
Sunday 27th January, 2008
Former Indonesian president Suharto has died at the age of 86.
Doctors say Mr Suharto lapsed into a coma earlier on Sunday, after his health had severely deteriorated.
He had been in hospital for more than three weeks, suffering from various heart, lung and kidney problems.
Indonesia has declared a week of mourning for the former dictator, who will be buried in a family grave in Solo on Monday during a state funeral.
The funeral will be led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
In a speech to the nation, President Yudhoyono referred to Suharto as 'a great leader', and urged Indonesians to pray for him.
Mr. Suharto has been credited with uniting Indonesia and lifting it from poverty to become one of the most dynamic economies in the region.
He also is remembered by many critics as being responsible during his 32-year rule for many examples of systematic killing of opponents.
During Suharto's 32 years of autocratic rule, Indonesia underwent swift economic growth but was marred by widespread corruption and human rights violations.
Thousands were killed when his regime suppressed resistance in the provinces of Papua and Aceh.
Thousands more died in East Timor after Indonesia invaded it in 1975.
The former general became president in 1967, two years after the massacre under his direction of hundreds of thousands of communists.
He was forced from office in 1998 amid mass protests.
Suharto was suspected of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars in government funds and a criminal case was brought against him.
The case was later dropped due to his poor health but a civil law suit against him was still going through the courts.  Email this story to a friend
Comments on this story
Anonymous
01-27-08, 07:02 PM |
Indonesia calls for citizens to mourn for Suharto
The fact that the now Indonesian President, Yudhoyono, expects Indonesians to mourne this mass murdering, dictator says much of what sort of man Yudhoyono himself is.
I wonder how Suhato’s many victims families feel about this. What an insult.
Why is it islamic countries have this thing where they think the most evil, blood thirsty, dishonest scum are the ones to most be proud of and put up on pedistals?
Anyway, as I said, this tells the world much about what sort of person the current Indo pres is like.
|
Have your say on this story
|
|
