A propos of the UW Global Health MPH seminar series this quarter on War,
Conflict and Health: reflections on the death this week of Suharto of
Indonesia.

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East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) on the Death of Suharto

Contact: John M. Miller +1/718-596-7668

Accountability for Suharto’s Crimes Must
Not Die With Him



Indonesia's former dictator General Suharto has died in bed and not in jail,
escaping justice for his numerous crimes in East
Timor and throughout the Indonesian archipelago. One of the worst mass murderers
of the 20th century, his death tolls still
shock:

* 500,000 to one million Indonesians in the aftermath of his 1965 seizure of
power;
* 100,000 in West Papua;
* 100,000 to 200,000 in East Timor, which his troops illegally invaded in
1975;
* tens of thousands more in Aceh and elsewhere.

Suharto also accumulated an appalling legacy of corruption - 15 to 35 billion
dollars stolen by him and his family.

Suharto has avoided personal accountability for the genocide, destruction and
corruption he inflicted upon those he presumed to
rule. However, the generals, cronies and family members who carried out his
orders via massacre, torture and theft must not get
off so easily. Those who murdered and pillaged on behalf of Suharto and his "New
Order" regime must be brought to justice.

We cannot forget that the United States government consistently supported
Suharto and his regime. As the corpses piled up after
his coup and darkness descended on Indonesia, his cheerleaders in the U.S.
welcomed the "gleam of light in Asia." In the
pursuit of realpolitik, U.S. administration after administration, fully aware of
his many crimes, provided military assistance
and hardware, training and equipping Suharto's killers. The Indonesian dictator
sought and received U.S. approval before he
launched his invasion of East Timor; ninety percent of the weapons used in this
illegal attack came from the U.S.

In the face of broad domestic opposition as his “economic miracle” had collapsed
in 1998, he finally stepped down. But only
after U.S. Secretary of State Albright hinted he should do so, even as the White
House insisted she was not calling on the
U.S.-backed dictator to “step down now.”

Persistent advocacy by concerned activists from East Timor, Indonesia, the U.S.
and within Congress finally succeeded in
curtailing U.S. military assistance to the Suharto regime in the 1990s. After
Suharto was ousted, East Timor broke free and the
Indonesian military lost some perks. Since then, military reform efforts have
stalled or been reversed. Suharto's favored
military still maintains substantial power. Its higher-ranking officers, and
powerful retired military, like President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, built their careers during his reign. The military continues
to violate human rights with impunity and in
West Papua and some areas operates by Suharto-era rules, restricting outside
access and employing terror in service of its
commercial interests.

Limited investigations dealing with Suharto-era crimes have added some
information to the public record, but the few trials
that have occurred have largely failed, as defendants have lied, intimidated or
bribed their way to acquittals, crushing the
hopes of the victims and their families for justice or even an apology.

To overcome Suharto's legacy and to uphold basic international human rights and
legal principles, those who executed, aided and
abetted, and benefited from his criminal orders must be held accountable. The
U.S. must undergo a complete accounting for its
role in backing the dictator. As a start, the U.S. government must support for
an international tribunal to prosecute human
rights and war crimes committed in East Timor from 1975 to 1999, and Washington
should condition military assistance to
Indonesia "on progress towards full democratisation, the subordination of the
military to the rule of law and civilian
government, and strict adherence with international human rights" as recommended
by East Timor's Commission for Reception,
Truth and Reconciliation.

A brief ETAN backgrounder on Suharto’s life is at
http://www.etan.org/news/2008/01suhartobio.htm.

This statement is also available in Tetum and Bahasa Indonesia. See
http://www.etan.org/

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ETAN welcomes your financial support. For more info:
http://etan.org/etan/donate.htm

John M. Miller Internet: fbp@...
National Coordinator
East Timor & Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)
PO Box 21873, Brooklyn, NY 11202-1873 USA
Phone: (718)596-7668 Fax: (718)222-4097
Mobile phone: (917)690-4391 Skype: john.m.miller
Web site: http://www.etan.org

Send a blank e-mail message to info@... to find out
how to learn more about East Timor on the Internet

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