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JAKARTA, Indonesia-Former Indonesian President Suharto, the U.S. Cold War ally who led one of the 20th century's most brutal dictatorships over 32 years that saw up to a million political opponents killed, died Sunday. He was 86. Suharto had been ailing in a hospital in the capital, Jakarta, since Jan. 4 when he was admitted with failing kidneys, heart and lungs.Finally toppled by mass street protests in 1998, Suharto's departure opened the way for democracy in this predominantly Muslim nation of 235 million people and he withdrew from public life, rarely venturing from his comfortable villa on a leafy lane in the capital.But Suharto also oversaw decades of economic expansion that made Indonesia the envy of the developing world. Today, nearly a quarter of Indonesians live in poverty, and many long for the Suharto era's stability, when fuel and rice were affordable.In a televised address, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on "the people of Indonesia to pay their last respects to one of Indonesia's best sons ... who has done very great service to his beloved nation."Yudhoyono's office declared a week of national mourning and he was to oversee a state funeral Monday once Suharto's body had been flown by a fleet of 11 Air Force planes to be placed in the family mausoleum.As is customary in Islamic tradition, Suharto's body was to be washed and joint prayers were held at the family home in the presence of his six children, Yudhoyono and dozens of the country's ruling elite."My father passed away peacefully," sobbed Suharto's eldest daughter, Tutut. "May God bless him and forgive all of his mistakes."Suharto ruled with a totalitarian dominance that saw soldiers stationed in every village, instilling a deep fear of authority across this Southeast Asian nation of some 6,000 inhabited islands that stretch across more than 3,000 miles.Jeffrey Winters, associate professor of political economy at Northwestern University, predicted a time when Indonesians would "realize that Suharto is responsible for some of the worst crimes against humanity in the 20th century."Those who profited from Suharto's rule made sure he was never portrayed in a harsh light at home, Winters said, so even though he was an "iron-fisted, brutal, cold-blooded dictator," he was able to stay in his native country.Since being forced from power, he had been in and out of hospitals after strokes caused brain damage and impaired his speech. Blood transfusions and a pacemaker prolonged his life, but he suffered from lung, kidney, liver and heart problems and slipped into a coma on Sunday.Suharto was vilified by historians, rights groups and his critics as one of the world's most brutal rulers and was accused of overseeing a graft-ridden reign.....To read more go:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080127/ap_on_re_as/obit_suharto;_ylt=Ask4DOxq4RfW819FsSS3n_Ks0NUE
As in the days of Noah....
