Between Sukarno and Soeharto

Between Sukarno and Soeharto

(Minister of Education and Culture) Prof. Juwono Sudarsono has called on scholars not to make unfair generalizations regarding the past, including the figures of former presidents Sukarno and Soeharto. In the past, demonstrators and the media tended to attribute all that was bad to Sukarno; now it is Soeharto...

Prof. Sudarsono's words are like fresh air blowing amid a climate of heated sentiments in which words and actions are based more on emotions, thirst for retribution and personal interests than on reason. People who condemned Sukarno in the past now extol him as a man who had done not a single wrong. On the other hand, people who supported and were full of praise for Soeharto now vie with each other in criticizing and denouncing him.

Prof. Juwono Sudarsono has shown himself to be a true intellectual -- one who has the courage to say what he believes to be true, no matter if it runs against everything the crowd is saying.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta