Don't award Soeharto, try him
Don't award Soeharto, try him
It is to be admitted that Soeharto differed from Sukarno who
focused his struggle on political development, national unity and
national pride.
In economics Soeharto prevailed where Sukarno didn't, greatly
changing the national attitude to development. This is the
success story of the Soeharto regime.
However, the benefits of development were not evenly
distributed among the people. This development has created a wide
gap between the rich and the poor, which has resulted in social
disharmony.
Despite the successes Soeharto achieved, his great sins must
also not be forgotten. He was the president who most extensively
worked to destroy democratic values, principles and the respect
for human rights -- the legitimate aspirations of those in an
independent nation -- under the guise of protecting economic
development.
He led the nation to become a nation of slaves. He also
encouraged feudalism to flourish, promoting bapak-ism (corrupt
paternalism). People have been taken into a state of ignorance,
they have inferiority complexes and lack self-confidence.
It was obvious during the New Order era that acts of
suppression were frequent and universal principles were not
abided by.
Hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of people have died
and been buried in unmarked graves that are yet to be found.
Soeharto, as the ultimate authority, should have been brought to
court for these crimes against humanity.
During the three decades of his administration, Soeharto
worked to destroy human values, ethics and morality because he
let corruption run rife in all levels of society. Now Indonesia
is labeled one of the most corrupt countries in the world. He and
his cronies have not yet been tried for corruption, with
Soeharto's alleged ill health as the excuse.
While it is unable or unwilling to bring Soeharto to court,
Indonesia loses its chance to revitalize essential values such as
truth, justice, honesty, morality and ethics in a open, objective
and honest manner.
That is why the presentation of an award by the Golkar Party
to former president Soeharto must be strongly condemned if we
want to realize a truly democratic country and stand on the same
platform as the other civilized nations of the world.
ADNAN BUYUNG NASUTION
Jakarta