The former Indonesian President Suharto, controversial for most of his time during his long years in power from march 1966 to mid-1998 and thereafter, pased away at a hospital in Jakarta on 27 January 2008. The 86 year old Suharto, widely known by this singular name in line with a Javanese practice, died of multiple organ failure after battling for life for over three weeks.
Suharto ruled over Indonesia from March 1966 when he as an army commander threatened to use force and acquired executive authority from then President Sukarno, the near-iconic architect of Indonesia's "guided democracy." After ruling Indonesia for around three-decades, he resigned as a President in mid-1998 in the face of a popular uprising for reforms.
A mixed record
Suharto's path to power and long reign were characterised by authoritarian politics and human rights abuses. His one time success at creating political stability and an economic miracle was in the end smeared by allegations of massive corruption as also nepotism and also social inequities.
P.S.Suryanarayana observes that "Suharto's mixed record covered not only the economic boom that later burst as a bubble but also his 'New Order' that was built on a brutal suppression of the Communist Party of Indonesia; the invasion and annexation of East Timor which broke free not long after his fall from power; his pivotal role in the formation of the Associaton of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN) 40 years ago; and his political swings from a pro-West position to a non-aligned stance."
As Hobbes says that" Man by nature is brutish, nasty, selfish and egoistic", all human being tends to commit mistakes. But as Aristole says that "Man is a Political animal",he is also characterized by living within a society with laws and customs. Therefore, our life certainly will have a mixed record which Suharto,the former President of Indonesia had undergone. It can be better understood by the way the current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed his deep sorrow and asked people to pray for Suharto labelling him "a great leader" though he was popularly known as a "Dictator".
Suharto ruled over Indonesia from March 1966 when he as an army commander threatened to use force and acquired executive authority from then President Sukarno, the near-iconic architect of Indonesia's "guided democracy." After ruling Indonesia for around three-decades, he resigned as a President in mid-1998 in the face of a popular uprising for reforms.
A mixed record
Suharto's path to power and long reign were characterised by authoritarian politics and human rights abuses. His one time success at creating political stability and an economic miracle was in the end smeared by allegations of massive corruption as also nepotism and also social inequities.
P.S.Suryanarayana observes that "Suharto's mixed record covered not only the economic boom that later burst as a bubble but also his 'New Order' that was built on a brutal suppression of the Communist Party of Indonesia; the invasion and annexation of East Timor which broke free not long after his fall from power; his pivotal role in the formation of the Associaton of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN) 40 years ago; and his political swings from a pro-West position to a non-aligned stance."
As Hobbes says that" Man by nature is brutish, nasty, selfish and egoistic", all human being tends to commit mistakes. But as Aristole says that "Man is a Political animal",he is also characterized by living within a society with laws and customs. Therefore, our life certainly will have a mixed record which Suharto,the former President of Indonesia had undergone. It can be better understood by the way the current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed his deep sorrow and asked people to pray for Suharto labelling him "a great leader" though he was popularly known as a "Dictator".
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Reference
Suryanarayana, P.S (2008), "Indonesia declares week-long mourning:Daughter apologises for Suharto's 'mistakes'," The Hindu, 28 January 2008, Delhi, p.14.
Reference
Suryanarayana, P.S (2008), "Indonesia declares week-long mourning:Daughter apologises for Suharto's 'mistakes'," The Hindu, 28 January 2008, Delhi, p.14.
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