Hartono repeats blind support for Soeharto

SURABAYA: Defying mounting protests, former Army chief Gen. (ret) R. Hartono, leader of the Concern for the Nation Functioning Party (PKPB), has reiterated his calls asking PKPB supporters to be protectors of Soeharto.

"Not only loyalists, we are the protectors of Soeharto," Hartono addressed some 5,000 supporters while campaigning on Wednesday at the November 10 Stadium in Surabaya.

He urged PKPB supporters to defend Soeharto's development policy, which once provided stability and prosperity for Indonesia.

He asserted that the Soeharto regime, which ruled the country for 32 years, was much better than the succeeding regimes that had ruled Indonesia.

"Under the Soeharto regime, there were no bombings, all goods were cheap and the feeling of safety ran high," he said.

He promised to bring back the good old days under Soeharto if the PKPB won the 2004 election.

Hartono was criticized by various quarters after he declared himself a Soeharto loyalist during a campaign in Yogyakarta. During the event, he also told Yogyakarta residents that they had an obligation to follow suit, as they were of the same ilk as Soeharto, a former ruler who was still being dogged by corruption charges.

A Yogyakarta resident has filed lawsuit against Hartono on charges that he had insulted Yogyakartans. -- JP