Remembering 'Bung' Karno

Remembering 'Bung' Karno

From Media Indonesia

The commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of
Sukarno (Bung Karno) was extremely touching, since his name has
been so seldom heard for many years. In fact, we all may agree
that his name was purposely covered, or only the bad sides of it
exposed. But very recently all of a sudden Bung Karno's name, for
reasons we do not know, has been repeatedly heard.

His biography was aired on TV and the mass media wrote lots of
nice things about Bung Karno. There were numerous discussions
about his struggles and achievements. Even Gelora Senayan, the
nation's largest sports stadium, was renamed after Sukarno.

I am extremely touched by the fact that we are now beginning
to appreciate Sukarno's struggles. But are we really doing this
from the bottom of our heart? Or are we just caught up in some
kind of mass euphoria? That is something each of us must answer
and answer honestly.

Megawati Soekarnoputri and the rest of her family must also be
deeply touched. Let us hope that all of this is a true
recognition of Bung Karno's struggles and love for this country.
At any rate, let our children hear about the great things Bung
Karno did for this country; the correct history of this nation.
Let bygones be bygones. For now we can understand that at least
Bung Karno was a very important and great figure in the history
of this country, and that he performed great services for his
beloved Indonesia.

MH JONI

Jakarta