Sukarno 'died slow death in seclusion'

Sukarno 'died slow death in seclusion'

JAKARTA (JP): The nation's founding president Sukarno, who was
officially declared dead of kidney failure on June 21, 1970, was
"slowly killed" by Soeharto's government through his isolation,
according to the former head of Sukarno's medical team.

"If there are some people who say that Bung Karno was killed
slowly, yes (it's) the one (the government) who locked him up
that did it. Not meaning 'to kill' literally, but the result was
the same," said noted neurologist Mahar Mardjono, as quoted in
this week's edition of the D&R weekly magazine.

Mahar, 75, a former rector of the University of Indonesia and
reportedly the only living member of a team of doctors who
treated Sukarno from Sept. 30, 1965, right up to his death, said
the Soeharto government's enforced isolation of the nation's
founding father lead to a marked deterioration in his health.

Sept. 30, 1965, was the day a coup d' etat blamed on the
Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was put down by the army.

When he died, Sukarno had been under virtual house arrest for
six years at his Wisma Yasa residence on Jl. Gatot Subroto in
Central Jakarta. The building is now the Satria Mandala military
museum.

Sukarno was 69 when he died at the Army's Gatot Subroto
Hospital. He was later buried in Blitar, East Java.

Controversy surrounded his death. Rumors that he was killed
with poisonous injections circulated after he passed away, and
some have said that Sukarno was left to die slowly with his
illnesses untreated.

Mahar denied all these rumors, saying Sukarno's death was of
natural causes brought on by illnesses related to his age.

If he was any other patient, Mahar said he would have advised
him to "take a walk, or go on vacation somewhere," to make his
mind joyful and restful. But how could I give such advice ... to
someone under house detention." Theoretically, he added, Sukarno
could have lived longer had he not been detained.

Mahar would not reveal the illnesses to which Sukarno
succumbed, but the weekly quoted him as saying in his memoirs
entitled Mahar, Pejuang Pendidik, dan Pendidik Pejuang that
Sukarno had problems with his kidney and heart. He was also known
to suffer from hypertension and had a blood circulation problem.

Mahar said that Sukarno always took the time to have medical
check-ups, even when he was abroad, "so medical care was
satisfactory (while he was still president)."

However, he said Sukarno became depressed after falling from
power, adding that he was not even allowed to walk in the garden.

"Just imagine, Bung Karno was such an extrovert. He liked to
interact with almost all kinds of people. Then suddenly he was
locked up. He wasn't allowed to see anybody and all his
activities were limited ..."

"His spirit that was once so high gradually declined. Anyone
used to working hard often becomes sickly after retiring ...
Well, Bung Karno did not just retire, he was impeached and then
detained without any clear reason," he explained.

Sukarno initially read a lot and watched films with Mahar and
the other doctors, but eventually tired of these limited
horizons.

Mahar recounted how Bung Karno on many occasions complained to
him in tears, saying: "What have I done wrong? Why am I treated
like this? ... Har (Mahar), you are the only one who can help
me." Mahar said he had once recommended to the government that
Sukarno be given time to get out of Wisma Yasa and get fresh air,
but received no response.

Mahar said that in the new era of openness, the reasons for
Sukarno's detention should be clarified. "I think Bung Karno
really didn't know what he had done wrong." (aan)