'The luckiest ex-dictator' 7 years on<\/p>\n
Aboeprijadi Santoso, Amsterdam<\/p>\n
Like it or not, Soeharto is an item of hype. Whatever he did
\nor didn't do can easily become a topic of public debate. While he
\nreigned, it seemed as though his every statement was made into a
\nheadline. He has outlived many of his friends and foes, so when
\nhe fell ill recently he became a celebrity of sorts, emerging as
\na topic of spirited discourse among politicians, observers and
\njournalists alike. So, how are we to interpret this phenomenon of
\nthis former dictator, seven years after he stepped, not down, but
\naside?<\/p>\n
How Soeharto sees himself as a public phenomenon is anybody's
\nguess, but one leading magazine -- probably correctly --
\ndescribed him as he was leaving the hospital as a man \"who
\nlaughed while his intestines were laid open\".<\/p>\n
His admirers are still around, as are his critics; opponents
\nand enemies keep watching him. So controversy is inevitable, both
\npublicly and privately, in mainstream and other media. A leading
\nnewspaper recently carried an article discussing the corruption
\nof power, and urged the public not to ignore it amid the noise of
\nthe war on corruption, yet without mentioning even once the man
\nwho ruthlessly and cleverly ruled this country for decades.<\/p>\n
A naive ego tripper, who has admired Soeharto and his power in
\nthe past, could write an appeal on behalf of the nation asking
\n\"forgiveness\" from the former president for all of their anger
\nand criticism, rather than the other way around.<\/p>\n
Thus, to the dismay of his opponents and pro-democracy
\nreformists, the five-star retired general so many Indonesians
\nhate for so many various and important reasons, seems to be far
\nfrom being unpopular.<\/p>\n
Is it surprising, then, that Benedict R.O.G. Anderson, a well-
\nknown Indonesianist, not long after Soeharto resigned, wondered:
\nwhy is it that Indonesians after three decades of the
\nauthoritarian and repressive New Order regime still pay homage to
\ntheir ex-dictator? For example, many still address him in writing
\nand in conversation with the honorific title Pak (Father) Harto?
\nOr even more affectionately calling him Eyang (grandpa)?<\/p>\n
As Ben Anderson perhaps suggests, many Indonesians not only
\nadmire but actually harbor problems and awe in dealing with the
\nphenomenon of power like Soeharto's -- wondering, that is, how
\nman like Soeharto, or any able general and politician for that
\nmatter, could hold the reins of state power for so long, and
\ncreate a myth of stability despite problems and resistance.<\/p>\n
To many, that image has become a syndrome. People, both for and
\nagainst, sometimes unintentionally reflect a mix of admiration,
\nawe and troubling questions about power.<\/p>\n
This love-hate ambiguity concerning Soeharto and his power is
\nstunning, and its consequences are perhaps most dramatically
\nexpressed and graphically illustrated when he, at the hospital,
\nwas visited by his friends and (ex-) foes.<\/p>\n
A.M. Fatwa, for one, told Radio Netherlands that he felt
\nemotionally deeply affected meeting the old man in his hospital
\nbed, and kissed him with tears in his eyes. The same Fatwa who
\nwas sentenced by Soeharto's regime to 18 years jail, and who now
\nclaims that he did it because of his faith.<\/p>\n
And, as if to add justification, he said, \"Yesterday,
\nPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was also here, and did the
\nsame\". Fatwa, a prominent politician who had for years been
\nadvocated by human rights bodies like Amnesty International and
\nTapol, could have become a human rights champion within
\nIndonesia's political Islam, yet he called that kiss to the ex-
\ndictator \"a humanitarian kiss\".<\/p>\n
\"I have never heard of such an idea,\" said Sobron Aidit, a
\npoet and political refugee now living in Paris. \"I respect Pak
\nFatwa, he (was jailed for) 18 years, but what about us? The
\ndecree of the MPRS (Provisional People's Consultative Assembly)
\nNo. 25 (1966, the decree that bans communism and Marxism) is
\nstill there. In the church, I pray, and God knows, I can't
\nforgive Soeharto. Millions were killed or suffered because of
\nhim. His sword is still bloody,\" said Sobron.<\/p>\n
While Fatwa would like to have Soeharto remembered as \"the ex-
\nruler who was forced to step down and failed to be tried because
\nof his sickness\".<\/p>\n
But, with Soeharto-syndrome alive and well, the controversy
\nremains. Put in the present-day context, this belated sympathy
\nfor Soeharto may in effect be a support for President Susilo's
\nleadership. Not because Susilo is seen as having the same
\nqualities, but because he, Susilo, is somehow seen as facing the
\nsame challenges and problems that all his post-Soeharto
\npredecessors failed to solve (the economy, corruption, Aceh,
\netc.).<\/p>\n
Many hope President Susilo would take strong and bold actions.
\nFor the military, it is often not the method, but the results
\nthat matters. Which means, in case of great failure, the
\nSoeharto-syndrome could potentially cause the pendulum to swing.<\/p>\n
The writer is a journalist with Radio Netherlands.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-luckiest-ex-dictator-7-years-on-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }