Profile of outgoing, longest serving leader in Asia

JAKARTA (JP): One of the most dramatic events in Indonesia's history took place yesterday morning when president Soeharto announced his resignation, bowing to the people's demands that he quit the presidency he has held for 32 years.

A tough military strategist who fought for the country's independence during the revolutionary years in the 1940s and later helped set up the economic development of the world's fourth most populous nation, Soeharto made the humiliating announcement in a nationwide televised speech, after months of mounting student protests against his administration, which the students accused of being rampant with corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Less than three months ago, ironically, Soeharto was elected for a seventh consecutive five-year term by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) made up of 1,00O members.

Born into a peasant family June 8, 1921 in Kemusuk, a village near the ancient Javanese city of Yogyakarta, Soeharto completed his secondary school education in his hometown in 1940 before enrolling into the military school in Gombong, Central Java.

During the Japanese occupation (1942-1945) he joined the pre- independent Indonesian military force and was appointed a platoon commander.

Between 1947 and 1949, he took part in several battles against Dutch colonial troops who tried to reoccupy Indonesia following the end of World War II even though the nation had already declared its independence.

He proved himself a capable officer when, on March 1, 1949, he took Dutch-controlled Yogyakarta. Although Soeharto and his troops could only hold the city for six hours, it was nevertheless a momentous military maneuver.

The attack awakened the international community to the fact that Indonesia's military and independence still existed and had not collapsed as had been claimed by the Dutch colonial government.

Under independent Indonesia, Soeharto held various command positions before he was made chief of the Diponegoro Division in 1956. Six years later, he was placed in command of Operation Mandala to liberate Irian Jaya, the remaining Indonesian territory still held by the Dutch government. He was then a major general.

He made his name in the international community when he led a crackdown operation against members of the Indonesian Communist Party who launched an abortive coup in September 1965.

His success in the communist crackdown earned him fame and popular support.

On March 27, 1968, Soeharto, then commander of the Army's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) was named Indonesia's second president, replacing Sukarno, who had ruled the country since it gained independence in 1945.

Prior to that, Soeharto had been appointed acting president by the People's Provisional Consultative Assembly (MPRS) which had stripped Sukarno of his presidential power in the wake of the September 1965 coup.

Under Soeharto's rule, the country's abundant natural resources, which had remained idle before, began to be exploited in the 1970s, boosting the country's economy and the people's standard of living.

But his 32 years in power were also marked by less admirable policies such as the jailing of intellectuals and retired generals who were critical of his authoritarian rule.

He was also widely criticized for policies awarding business concessions to his children, cronies and others close to him.

With the outbreak of the monetary crisis that hit the region last year in which Indonesia's economy was adversely affected and the recent bloody riots that spread over the country, people began to lose confidence in his leadership.

The following is a translation of Soeharto's remarks on various political issues, critics and student demonstrations as found in his biography Soeharto -- Pikiran, Ucapan, dan Tindakan Saya (Soeharto -- My Thoughts, Words and Deeds).

* "... I never prepared myself to become the president (of the Republic of Indonesia). Honestly, not only that I had never been educated to hold such a high position, I never even dreamt of it."

* "My children were present in Parliament when I was inaugurated president for the 1988/1993 term. Never before had they so closely witnessed my inauguration as the country's president through the mandate of the People's Consultative Assembly. Now that I have been appointed for the fifth time, why shouldn't they witness the inauguration ceremony."

* "There was one among my children who said that this (1988) presidential inauguration was the last for me. This is understandable, I shall soon be 67. Judging from the average age ratio, this means that, by the time I finish my term in 1993 with my age nearing 72, I will resign from the presidency."

* "Concerning the transfer of power, I have shown the way. That it should be carried out peacefully and in line with the country's Constitution."

* "If I am asked what my will is when the time comes for me to pay my debt to nature, my will -- actually it is not my own will alone, but our common last will or message -- is that those (who will lead the country) after us should be able to guarantee the continuity of the nation's life and the Indonesian state under the Pancasila principles."

* "The decree states that president Sukarno, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of ABRI, Great Leader of the Revolution and receiver of the mandate of the MPRS, assigned me to take whatever actions, on his behalf, to ensure peace and order in the country as well as national stability and the safety and dignity of president Sukarno for the sake of national unity."

* "Approaching 1978, there were ripples of political disorder. But this showed that democracy was working in the country."

* "Groups of students staged demonstrations in Bandung ... and later several newspapers were banned. The students' pledge issued in Bandung at the end of November 1977 (which accused the president of deviating from the country's 1945 Constitution and Pancasila principles) was too much indeed. It is the MPR, and not a small group of people, regardless of their institution, which has the constitutional right to decide whether a deviation from the Constitution has taken place or not."

* "In 1980, there was a group of people who called themselves the 50 Petitioners. Actually, I am glad to find someone in opposition against me, provided that he is a loyal oppositionist. But I could not agree with what the so-called 50 Petitioners did. I did not like the way they made their petition. The more so when they claimed themselves freedom fighters of the country."

* "Surely everything that the government has done or undertaken has been controlled. The government's wrong undertakings should be righted. But all this should be carried out through a consensus."

* "We do not accept Western-style opposition in our country. The sort of opposition which simply disagrees with (government policies) or which just airs differences of opinions is not known here... To have different opinions is a common thing but the matter should be settled through consensus."

* "We do have social control, but not the type of control that could create upheavals. Bear in mind that national stability should be maintained, because it is a prerequisite to national development. Development must go on and the country's economy should continue to grow for the sake of improving the people's welfare."

* "One should not be hard-headed just because of differences of opinion, then spread rumors about overthrowing the government. Toppling the president? Only the MPR has the right to do so."