Another dictator who died without trial: Who is Suharto?

Suharto, who fell from power in 1998, was evaded from the investigation launched against him for allegedly defrauding the state of 600 million dollars in 2006 because his health had deteriorated.

Communist massacre

After the failed coup against then-President Sukarno in 1965, Suharto became head of the army. Although there is still no definitive information about the coup, the government at the time blamed the Indonesian Communist Party.

Between 1965-67, Suharto embarked on a massacre that would eliminate the communist party. It is estimated that between 250 thousand and 1 million people were killed during this period. Tens of thousands of students and teachers were imprisoned for allegedly being left-wing. Most were never brought to trial. Suharto officially became president in 1967.

Military dictatorship

Soldiers loyal to Suharto, who violently suppressed any anti-government criticism during his rule, committed widespread violations during operations in East Timor, Aceh, and Papua.

East Timor, which declared independence from Portugal in 1975, was invaded by Indonesia nine days later.

One of the limited attempts at justice for human rights violations came in 2004, with the lawsuit filed against soldiers involved in the Tanjung Priok Massacre.

No one was punished at the end of the case regarding the incident in which 33 civilians were killed by security forces.

Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest-serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto led Indonesia as an authoritarian regime from the fall of his predecessor Sukarno in 1967 until his resignation in 1998 following nationwide unrest. His 32-year dictatorship is considered one of the most brutal and corrupt of the 20th century.

The most important reason why Suharto's New Order regime was able to remain in power for 32 years uninterruptedly is that its promise of economic development was significantly realized. During the first decade of the New Order regime, Indonesia made a major economic development move, and apart from some periodic zigzags, the economic development process continued quite steadily until the summer of 1997. The first development that accelerated the economy as soon as Suharto took over power in 1966 was the widening of the foreign aid taps, which had been closed during the Sukarno period. During the Cold War, the United States pursued a policy of actively supporting anti-communist regimes in the East Asian region and provided a generous aid package and loans to the Suharto government. Likewise, Japan, which had made a major economic breakthrough in the region under the auspices of the USA since the beginning of the Cold War period, began to provide credit and investment support to Indonesia in 1966. Another development that accelerated the economy was the rise in oil prices in the early 1970s. In the period between 1970 and 1981, Indonesia's export revenues from petroleum products increased by 45.5%. In parallel, per capita national income increased to 270 US dollars in the early 1970s and 500 US dollars in the 1980s. Such an increase in national income over fifteen years made it possible to allocate more resources to infrastructure services, education and health programs in the country.

Some interesting details from his life story

He was born on June 8, 1921, in Ke-musu Argamulja, Java, then in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). He was one of the 11 children of a Muslim merchant. Like most Javanese, he uses a single name. After completing his primary and secondary education, he started working as a clerk in a bank. He soon joined the Dutch colonial army and entered the military academy in Gombong.

During World War II, he joined the defense units established by the Japanese who occupied the East Indies in 1942 and was trained as an officer. In 1945, when Japan's defeat became certain, Sukarno, the leader of the nationalist movement, declared Indonesia's independence. However, the Netherlands wanted to re-establish colonial rule on the islands. Suharto participated in the armed struggle between Dutch soldiers and Indonesians between 1945 and 1947. He made his name known by playing an important role in suppressing the communist uprising in Madiun in 1948. After independence, he rose rapidly and became lieutenant colonel in 1950, colonel in 1957, and brigadier general in 1960. In 1961, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Indonesian land and air forces. In 1962, with the rank of major general, he commanded the expedition to capture Western Irian (west of New Guinea) from the Netherlands. In 1963 he became commander of the Indonesian Army Strategic Force. This special commando force, known as KOSTRAD, was established to be used in sudden and extraordinary situations.

Since the late 1950s, the increasing influence of the Communist Party in the country's administration began to unsettle most of the army. The nationalization of all foreign enterprises in the country in 1965 and Indonesia's withdrawal from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank increased the rumor within the army that generals with close relations with the USA would stage a coup.

Following these rumors, on the night of September 30, 1965, Sukarno's special guard commander, General Untung, staged a coup and six generals were killed. Suharto, who survived, staged a counter-coup and took control of the situation within a few days, committing a massive massacre against the Communists and their supporters. Estimates of the number of people killed in this massacre vary between one hundred thousand and one million, with most sources agreeing on the figure of five hundred thousand.

Instead of overthrowing Sukarno immediately, Suharto implemented the method of gradually seizing power. After first ruling the country as a member of the military junta, he stripped Sukarno of all presidential powers in March 1966. Sukarno, who had no influence left, handed over the presidential title to Suharto in February 1967.

Suharto, who was elected president for five years by the People's Consultative Council in March 1968, first gave the Dutch, British, and American companies back to their owners, assuring them that there would be no nationalizations for 30 years. To stop inflation, it implemented a tight monetary policy and borrowed from the International Monetary Fund. Indonesia rejoined the United Nations. A peace treaty was signed with the Federation of Malaysia. Relations with the People's Republic of China were completely cut off.

In the general elections held in 1971 for the first time after 1955, the pro-government Golkar (Sekber Golongan Karya-United Secretariat of Functional Groups), which participated in the elections as the representative of fishermen, farmers, and other professionals, received the most votes. In March 1973, Suharto was re-elected as president by the People's Consultative Council. Due to the pressure on other parties, Golkar won the majority in the general elections held in 1977 and 1982. Suharto, whose presidential term was extended in 1978 and 1983, governed the country with a small group of officers, with the strength he gained from the adoption of a decree in July 1982 stating that the armed forces have dual functions, one military and the other social.

Suharto was forced to leave power, helpless in the face of mass street demonstrations in 1998, when allegations of corruption and human rights violations came to light. After this year, there was great pressure to bring Suharto to trial, but he escaped trial due to his poor health.

Suharto, who was hospitalized with a diagnosis of heart, lung, and kidney failure on January 4, 2008, died on January 27, 2008, at the age of 84. Suharto was buried at a state ceremony in Java.