Talk:Suharto/Archives/2008/April

Millions?

Did Suharto really kill millions? Several hundred thousand, certainly, but millions? Josh (talk) 15:25, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

In his siezure of power and the subsequent anti-Communist purges he killed up to a million people. His invasion and occupation of East Timor killed about 200,000 Timorese. Thousands more were killed by his order in West Papua, Aceh and other areas in the archipelago. Those are the violent deaths for which he and his military and financial suppliers in the US, Canada, Australia, etc. are responsible. But to get a full picture of his record, one must include the uncounted thousands - undoubtedly millions - who died as a direct result of the economic policies and corruption that he implemented and maintained. For example, it has been routine (to this day) that aid to Indonesia for earthquake and other disaster relief gets funneled (with at least tacit governmental approval) into the pockets of the country's elite, leaving the intended recipients to starve or die from lack of medical care. So I'd say, Suharto killed at least a million outright, but his economic miracle brought about the deaths of many more over his 32 year reign. Pinkville (talk) 18:39, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't agree to this. He may have indirectly resulted the deaths of up to a million people during his reign, but the number of people killed directly as a result of his policies, or even at his orders weren't probably that high. The communist purge contributed the most to this though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hamster X (talk • contribs) 13:39, 10 April 2008 (UTC)