World leaders on Sunday praised the late Indonesian president Suharto for the stability and growth he brought to the region but also touched on the serious rights abuses that marred his long rule.
The former general, who was 86 when he died on Sunday, ruled Indonesia with an iron first for 32 years, allowing rapid development and holding together the diverse nation, but at a price.
His time in power, which ended in 1998 after mass protests, was also characterised by corruption, massacres and human rights abuses, particularly in separatist hot spots such as Papua or East Timor.
"Former President Suharto was one of the longest-serving heads of government of the last century and an influential figure in Australia's region and beyond," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said in a statement.
"The former president was also a controversial figure in respect of human rights and East Timor and many have disagreed with his approach," said Rudd, who also praised Suharto for modernising Indonesia and his efforts to forge a united region.
Another close neighbour, Singapore, also paid its respects. "Singapore would like to convey our deepest sympathies to the Indonesian people for their profound loss," a spokesman from Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said via email. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of Malaysia, another Muslim nation in the region, said Suharto's death was a great loss to both countries.
"We pray to Allah to bless Pak Harto's soul and to place him among the blessed," Abdullah told reporters, using the popular name for Suharto.
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, 82, whose time in office overlapped Suharto's for nearly two decades, told the Bernama state news agency: "I regarded him as a friend of Malaysia and as a personal friend."
He added: "Even though Indonesia was not an ideal democracy during Suharto's time, the fact remained that he brought stability to Indonesia. Of course, there is a price to be paid," Mahathir said, acknowledging that some people had suffered under Suharto's administration.
Mahathir said his country was indebted to Suharto for his role in ending the Indonesian "Confrontation" against Malaysia. Sukarno, Indonesia's first president, had declared a "Confrontation" against Malaysia in 1964, which then included Singapore along with the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak.
Sukarno believed all of Borneo belonged to Indonesia and announced his intention to arm a million leftist peasants and workers to do battle with Malaysia.
The Netherlands, Indonesia's former colonial master, also touched on the stability Suharto brought, while welcoming the transition to democracy.
"Under Suharto's rule, Indonesia experienced a period of relative stability. The economy grew strongly, notably in the 1980s," said Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen. "After he stepped down, Indonesia democratically chose a new leader. That confirms that Indonesia is a democratic country where the people have the last word," he said.
Bangladesh described Suharto's death as a "the end of an era" but also noted the inconsistencies in his rule. "Suharto lives behind a mixed bag of legacies, while his supporters see him as the father of development, his opponents describe him as dictatorial," said Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, adviser on foreign affairs to Bangladesh's interim government.
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