US-Backed Dictator Heroized: History Rewritten, Again
Al Jazeera reports that Indonesia has declared former President Suharto a posthumous national hero, celebrating his 'leadership' decades after his bloody 31-year reign. Conveniently omitted from most mainstream narratives is the crucial role the United States played in his ascent. Following a 1965 coup attempt, the US provided extensive covert support – financial aid, communications equipment, and
lists of suspected communists – enabling Suharto's military to systematically murder an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 alleged communists and ethnic Chinese in one of the 20th century's most brutal purges. This 'hero' was propped up by Western powers because he was 'anti-communist,' turning a blind eye to the mass graves and disappearing dissidents. The U.S. State Department, under President
Lyndon B. Johnson, described these killings as a 'windfall' for U.S. foreign policy. So, an alleged 'hero' whose legacy is built on a mountain of unreported bodies, courtesy of Cold War geopolitics. Some heroes, it seems, just need the right international PR. (And a former son-in-law in power, apparently.)