Suharto
In my article on Suharto published online, I observed:
"...it may be claimed that Suharto had been unduly harsh in Aceh and East Timor (today known as Timor-Leste). In December 1975, the Portuguese colonial rulers pulled out of East Timor, and the Indonesian army moved in. In the ensuing guerrilla warfare, at least 170,000 died over the next fifteen years. Again, the contrast with democratic India is instructive: India invaded the princely states one by one, and Goa in 1961, with Nehru assuring the people that Mahatma Gandhi would have thoroughly approved the last move (J. M. Roberts, Twentieth Century: The History of the World: 1901 To The Present (London: Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, 1999), p. 497). Indeed,
Indian nationalism proved virulent for the minorities: The Economist observed that the Indian Army had killed 200,000 Nagas alone till 2003 (January 18, 2003). This comparison in no way exonerates the Suharto regime, but it does put the matter in some perspective, which has been sorely lacking, with Suharto being seen as the ''dictator who ruled with an iron fist'', as opposed to some ideal of benign democratic government.
Indeed, where murder and mayhem are concerned, it may be argued that the world's largest and the world's oldest democracies have a lot in common." The body count in Iraq has crossed the million mark; 5 million natives were killed in the Vietnam War.
One country reduces the number of people living in poverty from 70% to 15% in 30 years; another achieves a meagre reduction from 55% to 37 % in 50 years. No two nations so starkly oppose economic prosperity to dubious political freedom as Suharto's Indonesia and post-independence India.
Finally, Suharto has the undying gratitude of his people. According to an Associated Free Press report of 2007, Indonesians regret the passing of the Suharto regime. ''If you go to the village level, they prefer a dictatorship to what they see, at times, as a chaotic democratic system,'' said Dewi Fortuna Anwar, head of research at the political think tank Habibie Center.
In June last year, where ten years ago thousands had demanded his resignation, dozens of supporters unravelled banners wishing him a happy birthday at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.
''What people want, what I want, is a return to Suharto's time," proclaimed Boan, an Indonesian peasant.
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