Suharto & USPosted byUser: Peace LoverFrom: proxyc3.cyberway.com.sg On: October 02, 1999 at 01:44:45 In response to accusations that US shld be responsible for troubles in Indonesia. Yes & no. Suharto is a dictator, period. I think it would be difficult even if US wants to remove him earlier because Indo has been a very closed economy until 10 years ago. It is different now because Indo has opened up more to world trade & with US controlling the IMF it was able to get him out last year. US would want to work w Suharto earlier & support Abri because Indo was the biggest country in SE Asia & was strongly anti communist. Can't get him out, might as well work with him against common communist to bring stability in the region. In perspective I think US shld not be accused of putting a dictator in Indonesia back then since Suharto would still be a dictator w or w/o US help. Maybe more chaos. However after the cold war & comunism is dead, plus Indo economy opened up, the story changes. In fact it was US thro IMF who got rid of Suharto. I think this is bad. The US govt in my opinion made a foolish mistake because they wanted to take opportunity of econ crisis to get Suharto out fast. This maybe the only opportunity because Suharto is too powerful with money, Abri & Pancasila thugs. Although Suharto is a corrupt dictator, to do it in such a hasty way really caused too much pain to Indonesia. The price is just too high. TNI shld have responded more positively by changing their role in society so that things do not get worse. I guess they are just too spoilt. But what is done cannot be undone & Indo shld stay focus on building a democratic, peaceful & prosperous society. The potential is actually there & I believe ASEAN, Japan & US can help. The Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodians & even black South Africans have decided to forgive & move on, why not Indonesia. Just work to make a better life for Indonesians.
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