TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has strongly criticized the ongoing discussion regarding the potential conferment of the title of national hero upon Soeharto, the second President of Indonesia. The human rights group views this proposal as an act of disrespect towards the victims of human rights violations that occurred during his authoritarian New Order regime.
Jessenia Destarini, a member of Kontras’s Impunity Monitoring Division, said that the proposal is deeply problematic as it would effectively whitewash a dark period in Indonesian history and erase the painful legacy of crimes committed by the New Order…