Indonesia Mourns Suharto

Former Indonesian dictator takes critical turn for the worse

(NEWSER) - Longtime Indonesian dictator Suharto's health worsened yesterday as he suffered multiple organ failure. Suharto's condition improved slightly as workers rushed to prepare for what they believed to be his imminent funeral, AFP reports. Suharto, 86, was forced from power a decade ago after ruling Indonesia with an iron fist for three decades. More»

Jakarta streets inundated; landslides on Sumatra

(NEWSER) - Heavy trains have triggered floods and landslides across the Indonesian archipelago, killing at least 12 people and displacing thousands, Reuters reports. Jakarta's 14 million citizens are wading through knee-high water, and the country's president was forced to abandon his bulletproof car after getting stuck. On Java, more than 10,000 houses were inundated, forcing residents into tents on the street. 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.