[Deathwatch] Haji Muhammad Suharto, former Indonesian dictator, 86

[Deathwatch Central]

Former Indonesian President Suharto dies at 86
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/27/indonesia.suharto/index.htm
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JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Former Indonesian dictator Haji Muhammad
Suharto -- the "smiling general" who ruled his country with an iron
fist for three decades -- died Sunday at a hospital in Jakarta, said
his doctor. He was 86.

 He was rushed to Pertamina Hospital on January 4 for treatment of a
failing liver, heart and lungs, his doctors said.

He had been suffering at home for five days.

His death comes just a day after his doctors said he appeared to be
making a remarkable recovery.

Suharto, who, like other Indonesians, only has one name, was president
of Indonesia from 1967 until he was forced to resign -- under immense
political pressure -- in 1998.

He is credited with shaping modern Indonesia by boosting the economy
and making the sprawling archipelago a regional power.

However, he also reigned as the nation was beset by internal corruption
and, at the end of his rule, economic decline.

"He was known as the smiling general. He could be very charming, but
behind that smile was this streak of steel," said Richard Woolcott,
Australia's former ambassador to Indonesia.

"In the short term, he'll probably be judged fairly harshly by
Australian critics and others in the West, but in the longer term, I
suspect historians will see his contributions to Indonesia in a very
positive light," Woolcott told CNN.

Many thanks to TheLenGuy for posting this obituary