US Hailed Suharto as Stabilizing Ally While He Slaughtered Millions
Indonesia has declared former dictator Suharto a 'national hero,' sparking outrage over his legacy of mass human rights abuses and corruption. Yet, while The Guardian focuses on Indonesia's internal revisionism, it conveniently omits the fact that Suharto was not just a domestic problem; he was a US-backed strongman, hailed as a bulwark against communism. Documents declassified in 2017 reveal the
US provided lists of Communist Party members to the Indonesian military during Suharto’s 1965-66 purge, which saw up to a million alleged communists and ethnic Chinese slaughtered—actions the CIA later dubbed 'one of the worst mass murders of the 20th century.' (Source: The Guardian, Nov 10, 2025; National Security Archive, 2017). So, Indonesia now rehabilitates its tyrant, but the West never
truly accounted for its role in enabling him. It appears 'historical revisionism' is only concerning when it's not a narrative that serves Western interests, or when the massacre isn't committed by a 'friendly' dictator. One might wonder, how many US-backed 'national heroes' will history eventually condemn?