Indonesian activists rally against plan to name Suharto as national hero
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Mr Effendi Saleh, who says that he was detained for 10 years during the late President Suharto’s era, holds a placard during a protest against government's plans to name Suharto a national hero.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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JAKARTA - About 100 activists gathered on Nov 6 in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta to demand that the government cancel a plan to grant late authoritarian leader Suharto the status of national hero
The country’s social ministry and culture ministry have proposed Mr Suharto along with 48 other candidates to President Prabowo Subianto to receive the title. The honour is bestowed every year on Nov 10 to those considered to have made a significant contribution to the country.
Indonesia faced decades of repressive rule under Mr Suharto’s military-backed “New Order”. He held power for 32 years before being forced to step down during an economic crisis, mass protests and deadly riots in Jakarta in 1998.
Concerns about “whitewashing” history
Mr Prabowo, elected in 2024, has openly praised Mr Suharto, his former father-in-law, while increasingly turning to the military to pursue his agenda.
On Nov 6, protesters arguing that Mr Suharto’s alleged human rights violations and corruption made him unworthy of the title, rallied near the presidential palace.
Some carried posters saying: “Stop the Whitewashing of the General of Butchery” and “Thousands Died But The Country Chose to Forget.”
Among those present were rights groups Amnesty International Indonesia and the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS).
“If he deserves to be a hero, why did he step down and why did the New Order have to be overthrown?” said Ms Virdinda La Ode Achmad from KontraS.
Several rights groups also sent a letter to the Culture Minister Fadli Zon and Mr Prabowo to oppose the plan.
Mr Fadli said proposing national hero candidates included public input.
“We have conducted research,” he told reporters. “All of them have met the requirements.”
Historians and activists say at least 500,000 people were killed from late 1965 after then-general Suharto took power following an abortive communist coup. Mr Suharto was a key military commander at the time.
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid and labour activist Marsinah, who was kidnapped and murdered under Mr Suharto, are also among the 2025 candidates to become national heroes. REUTERS
