Family welcomes move to restore Dharsono's name<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): Andriana held back tears when asked to comment
\non the government's plan to restore the good name of her husband,
\nHartono Rekso Dharsono, a leading soldier-diplomat who died two
\nyears ago after spending five years in jail for subversion under
\nformer president Soeharto's regime.<\/p>\n
Now ailing from Parkinson's disease, Andriana, 71, recounted
\nhow her husband tried to put a brave face on his incarceration.
\n\"How bitter it was, only he knew, because he never complained to
\nus,\" she said here on Saturday after revealing to reporters that
\nshe found out about the plan to grant her husband a posthumous
\namnesty in the media.<\/p>\n
\"We tried to soothe his wounded feelings by visiting him in
\njail. Deep down in our hearts we could never accept it. How could
\nwe? He was innocent,\" Andriana said.<\/p>\n
\"We have not received any official notification, but if it is
\ntrue, we hope it (the plan) will be carried out,\" Andriana said
\nat her home.<\/p>\n
She said she had yet to pass the news on to all of her six
\nchildren. \"Some of my children are still in Germany and
\nAustralia,\" she said.<\/p>\n
After taking part in the independence struggle of the 1940s,
\nDharsono's military career peaked when he became chief of the
\nBandung-based Siliwangi Regional Command in 1966-1969, during
\nwhich time he helped to establish Soeharto's New Order
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
He served as ambassador to Thailand (1969-1972) and Cambodia
\n(1972-1975) and was secretary-general of the Association of
\nSoutheast Asia Nations from 1976 to 1978.<\/p>\n
After retiring from public life, Dharsono, fondly known as Pak
\nTon, became one of Soeharto's staunchest critics. He was sent to
\njail in 1985 after being found guilty of attempting to undermine
\nthe government and inciting unrest by helping to draft a white
\npaper on the Sept. 12, 1984, Tanjung Priok riot.<\/p>\n
He was released for good behavior in 1990 after serving five
\nyears of his sentence. He died of cancer in June 1996.<\/p>\n
Despite being awarded a number of service medals, his right to
\nburial in a heroes' cemetery was denied and he was instead put to
\nrest in Sirnaraga Cemetery, Bandung. Many of his colleagues,
\nincluding Lt. Gen. (ret) Ali Sadikin, Lt. Gen. (ret) Solichin
\nG.P., and Lt. Gen. (ret) Kemal Idris were outraged at this act.<\/p>\n
Ali wept bitterly and even snapped at then West Java military
\nchief Maj. Gen. Tayo Tarmadi over the unfairness of the
\nsituation.<\/p>\n
However Dharsono's family accepted the situation more calmly.<\/p>\n
\"A burial place is a burial place,\" Dharsono's daughter, Rani,
\nsaid. \"What is more important is the restoration of his name
\nbecause he was innocent.\"<\/p>\n
\"He was released before his time was up, but that's not enough
\nfor us. We want his good name to be restored,\" Andriana added.<\/p>\n
She said she would never understand why her husband was blamed
\nfor a crime he did not commit. \"It's the most hateful thing
\n(Soeharto's) government did to us,\" Andriana said.<\/p>\n
She described how before her husband retired Soeharto often
\nvisited Bandung and her family would do everything to welcome
\nhim. (43)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/family-welcomes-move-to-restore-dharsonos-name-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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