By Xinhua
Jakarta : Thousands of people flocked to the Astana Giribangun mausoleum in the Indonesian town of Solo Monday to pay their last respects to former president Soeharto who left a complex legacy after 32 years in power.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono led the top-class military procession, attended also by the military commander, the chiefs of the three branches of the armed forces and the national police chief in the royal city, about 400 km east of Jakarta.
Soeharto died at the age of 86 on Sunday at a Jakarta hospital after being treated 24 days for multiple organ failure.
He was buried next to his wife Siti Suhartinah, who died in 1996, at the family cemetery.
“We have lost one of the best men the country ever has, a loyal soldier and a respected statesman,” said President Susilo in the ceremony broadcast by Metro TV.
“He spent his entire life for this country. During the revolutionary struggles in 1945 and 1949, he actively took part to defend the sovereignty and the integrity of this country in its early life,” he said.
“From the deepest of our hearts, let us recognize his priceless services to the country,” Susilo said in front of Soeharto’s all six children and other guests.
Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad were among the mourners, said Metro TV.
The government declared a week of national mourning shortly after Soeharto’s eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana confirmed his death.
Soeharto is credited with bringing fast economic growth, low living costs and political stability to an impoverished country at the time during his tenure.
But his military-backed regime has also been criticized for corruption and cronyism.
Soeharto, Indonesia’s second and long-serving president, stepped down in May 1998 amid nationwide protests against his authoritarian rule in the wake of the financial crisis that led to the collapse of the country’s economy.
However, attempts to put him on trial amid graft allegations failed after the Supreme Court pronounced him medically unfit for trials in 2002.
“When you rule a country as huge, diverse and complex as Indonesia for as long as 32 years, there are bound to be controversies,” the major national newspaper Jakarta Post said in an editorial.
“He will be remembered by those who lived through his iron-fisted rule as both a hero and a villain,” it said.
The country’s most influential newspaper Kompas said Soeharto deserved respect and recognition for his valuable services to the country, and that “his bad sins should not override his good deeds.”
Controversies about whether the country should forgive or punish Soeharto have loomed large since he was admitted to hospital on Jan. 4.
Indonesian soldiers carry the coffin of former Indonesian president Soeharto during the funeral at Astana Giribangun cemetery near Solo, Indonesia, Jan. 28, 2008.
Attorney General Herdarman Supandji, on behalf of the president, has met with Soeharto’s children at the Pertamina Hospital to offer an out-of-court settlement regarding the multi-billion U.S. dollars graft accusations against the former ruler.
But lawyers representing Soeharto strongly dismissed the offer and maintained that Soeharto was innocent.