Jakarta Globe, November
07, 2012
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Sukarno and
Mohammad Hatta, Indonesia’s founding fathers, were officially recognized as national
heroes during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Jakarta on Wednesday
morning.
President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono pinned medals on Sukarno’s eldest son, Guntur
Sukarnoputra, and Hatta’s daughter, Meutia Hatta, who represented the two
honorees during a ceremony that lasted for half an hour.
“Bung Karno
and Bung Hatta were two sons of the nation whose ideas and thoughts have become
foundations for the nation,” Yudhoyono said in a speech after he issued the
medals.
Although
both Sukarno and Hatta have always been recognized as the founding fathers of
Indonesia, they were never conferred with the title of national heroes, mostly
because past political elites deemed the two had historical baggage.
Sukarno was
accused of leaning toward the far-left during his time in power and granting
political advantages for the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) and its
leaders.
A 1967
decree of the Provisional People’s Consultative Assembly (MPRS) that stripped
Sukarno of his presidential post claimed that “there have been indications that
President Sukarno has adopted a policy that indirectly benefits the G-30-s/PKI
movement and protects the key figures [of the movement].”
However,
former Constitutional Court chief Jimly Asshiddiqie argued that the PKI
scandals had clouded Sukarno and Hatta’s legacy as founders of the nation and
proposed in July that the two should be named national heroes.
The Title
and Honor Council finally accepted the proposal, although the chief, Djoko Suyanto,
refused to explain why.
“The [award
medals] will be handed over to the families of Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta,”
Djoko, also the coordinating minister for political, legal and security
affairs, told kompas.com shortly before the ceremony.
The ceremony
is part of the celebration of Indonesia’s Heroes Day, celebrated every Nov. 10.
Sukarno’s
eldest daughter and fifth president of Indonesia, Megawati Sukarnoputri, was
seen in attendance. She has hardly stepped foot in the presidential palace
since Yudhoyono, a former coordinating minister for political, legal and
security affairs in her cabinet, assumed the presidency in 2004.
Antara, JG
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