Proposal to Name Suharto a National Hero Triggers Strong Backlash Across Indonesia

Proposal to Add Suharto to National Heroes List Draws Fierce Criticism

A proposal to include former President Suharto on Indonesia’s official roster of national heroes has provoked sharp criticism from rights groups, activists and academics, who on Tuesday described the nomination as a “betrayal.”

Former President Suharto, who died in 2008 at the age of 86, seized power after a failed coup and ruled Indonesia with tight military control from 1967 for more than three decades. His long tenure was marked by widespread accusations of corruption and repeated human rights abuses, including violent crackdowns on political opponents and protesters.

Around 500 members of civil society — including activists, academics and other public figures — published a letter to President Prabowo Subianto (who is Suharto’s son-in-law) urging him not to approve Suharto’s inclusion on the national heroes list. The signatories said the move would be a betrayal of victims and democratic values and would distort the historical record for younger generations.

“The awarding of the title of national hero to Suharto is not only a betrayal of the victims and democratic values, but also a betrayal of reform and constitutes a dangerous distortion of history for the younger generation,” the letter said.

State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said last week that President Prabowo was reviewing the shortlist of candidates and that the president has the authority to make the final decisions. The list is due to be finalised on November 10. A presidential spokesman did not respond to requests from AFP for comment.

Signatories to the letter and rights organisations highlighted documented abuses under Suharto’s rule, including alleged massacres of student demonstrators by pro-Suharto forces in the months leading up to his fall in 1998. At a press briefing, former attorney general Marzuki Darusman, a signatory to the letter, warned that awarding Suharto national hero status would be “a monumental neglect of and insensitivity towards the human rights violations.”

Amnesty International also cautioned that including Suharto on the list risks whitewashing painful episodes of Indonesia’s past. “The law states that a hero must possess moral exemplarity, moral integrity, and embody social and humanitarian justice,” Usman Hamid, Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director, told reporters. He added that those standards are fundamentally at odds with honoring Suharto as a national hero.

The controversy comes amid ongoing political tensions since President Prabowo’s election last year, which has seen periodic protests over economic inequality and concerns about entrenched political privileges and dynastic influences. Critics say these issues have eroded public trust in democratic institutions.

What’s next

Prabowo’s final decision on the national heroes list is expected by November 10. Civil society groups say they will continue to campaign and press for a decision that acknowledges victims and upholds democratic and human rights principles.