Suharto Suffers Multiple Organ Failure

Former dictator's sins take backseat as nation grieves

(NEWSER) - Suharto's critics kept quiet today as Indonesia mourned the former dictator on the streets and around TVs, the New York Times reports. Crowds swarmed an ambulance transporting his body, television channels ran nostalgic accounts of his life, and President Susilo Yudhoyono called on the nation to pray for Suharto, saying, "Pray that the deceased’s good deeds and dedication to the nation be may accepted by God the Almighty." More»

Corrupt, cruel--and fondly remembered

(NEWSER) - The death of Suharto, Indonesia's ferociously anti-communist dictator for more than 30 years, leaves islanders ambivalent: On the one hand, he created economic prosperity; on the other, he enriched himself and his cronies, and brutally suppressed opponents, leaving hundreds of thousands imprisoned or dead. "He was 50% good and 50% bad," a historian tells the Christian Science Monitor. More»

Ruled for 32 years; resigned amid corruption, human rights charges

(NEWSER) - Former Indonesian president Suharto, a US Cold War ally whose legacy of economic development was marred by charges of human rights abuses and corruption, died today of organ failure at 86, Reuters reports. Suharto ruled for 32 years until being forced out in 1998; his deteriorating health prevented him from ever going to trial even though accusers allege he had perhaps 1 million opponents killed and had embezzled billions. More»

Reminiscing comes in profile about his time in Indonesia

(NEWSER) - Barry Obama was just 6 years old when Ann Dunham decided to take him to war-torn Indonesia, and Sunday’s New York Times Magazine examines the reverberations of that decision. On the surface the answer is simple: She was following her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian native who’d been called back to serve in the army. But the article offers a revealing look at Dunham’s life there. Some tidbits:

• The young Barack (then Barry) was subject to constant racial discrimination; once, when other children threw rocks at him, Dunham told a friend, “He’s OK. He’s used to it.”
• When Lolo got a job with a US oil company, Dunham refused to socialize with the wealthy American wives of the other execs. She once complained to a friend that Lolo “was becoming more American every day.”
• One former servant for the couple says that Dunham once emerged from an argument with her husband with a bloody nose—though author Janny Scott notes that no one else even hinted at any abuse in the relationship.

Trip offered opportunities for personal moments

(NEWSER) - President Obama finished off his 10-day Asia trip on a personal note, visiting the Great Buddha statue in Japan that he last saw as a 6-year-old boy. “It is wonderful to return to this great treasure of Japanese culture,” he wrote in the guest book. "Its beauty has stayed with me for many years." The 40-foot, 100-ton statue dates to the 1200s. While there, he had green tea ice cream, just as he did when he was a child, Politico reports. More»